The Phantom Hero's Realm
by Archcommander Tenebros
Summary: A few months after PP, Danny visits Clockwork's tower at the latter's request. Little does he know that Clockwork has a very special gift for him on behalf of the Ghost Elders as thanks for his actions in saving the world multiple times, his very own realm in the Ghost Zone! And this new realm might just be the key that Danny needs to make peace with his many ghostly enemies.
1. Chapter 1 - The Time Master's Gift

This is my first Danny Phantom fic, I hope you guys enjoy!

Some background info for this fic: This fic takes place after PP, Danny and Sam are back to just being friends (this will be explained as the fic goes on, I don't hate Danny x Sam but I like Danny x Ember more). Also, Clockwork has accepted Danny as a student and is teaching him how to overcome his weaknesses and learn new abilities.

DISCLAIMER: I'm only going to say this one time. I do not own Danny Phantom, it and its characters belong ENTIRELY to Butch Hartman.

The Phantom Hero's Realm

Chapter 1 – The Time Master's Gift

_The Ghost Zone, Clockwork's Tower_

Clockwork smiled as he watched a familiar white and black figure streak through the Ghost Zone on his monitor. It had been several months since he had saved the Earth from the Disasteroid and had been globally hailed as a hero on Earth, several months since Danny Phantom had finally been given the praise that he deserved. Even now, the halfa he had grown to care for as a mentor and friend was on his way by the Time Master's own request. It was time to give Danny the reward he deserved for selflessly dedicating his life to protecting not just Amity Park and the Earth, but also a world that was filled with enemies who tried to attack him on a daily basis.

"Bah," a sinister voice growled from behind him. "Don't tell me my weaker half is coming here again!"

"That is exactly what he is doing," Clockwork snapped at the evil alternate reality version of Danny, the dreaded Dan Phantom of a future that could no longer occur. Clockwork would have kept Dan in the thermos for much longer, but his visions of the future had revealed to him that things would turn out much better for everyone, surprisingly including Dan himself, if he released him early.

Dan's response to being freed from the thermos had been as predictable as it had been violent; he had lunged at Clockwork, trying to overpower and destroy the ghost who had dared to ruin the future he had created and keep him imprisoned. The evil hybrid of Phantom and Plasmius had assumed that because he existed outside of time, he would be immune to Clockwork's time powers and therefore the time ghost would be unable to use his main weapon against him.

It was unfortunate for Dan that Clockwork had been concealing far more powers than just those related to chronokinesis. The Master of Time had revealed a hidden merciless side during their "battle" that even Dan had been stunned at, delivering one of the most devastating and one-sided beatdowns the Dark Phantom had ever experienced during his entire existence.

"Did you truly think that I would have set you free if I was not capable of utterly controlling you or wiping you out of existence for all eternity?" Clockwork had all but snarled after hurling the badly wounded Dark Phantom onto the hard floor of the tower. "The only reason you still have a presence in this world is because I allow it to be so, and be assured that this can be easily rectified!"

As much as he hated Clockwork's guts, Dan had to respect the elder ghost's sheer power and unexpected ruthlessness. With his very existence on the line, he had no choice but to concede to the Master of Time's will. A large tower as a prison was much better than the cramped thermos, after all, and Clockwork did allow Dan to occasionally carry out errands into the Ghost Zone so long as he avoided violent confrontations with other ghosts, an order which Dan obeyed purely out of self-preservation.

"Hey Clockwork," a voice yelled out from the entrance to the tower. "Are you there? I came like you wanted!"

"Yes, come in Danny!" Clockwork called back. He smiled as his student floated into his tower, looking slightly flushed and out of breath.

"Sorry I'm so late," Danny apologized. "My parents made me a new Ecto-Skeleton suit and they wanted to show it off to me." He laughed. "Can you believe it? An improved Ecto-Skeleton that doesn't drain your life force!"

From behind them, Dan grinned and chuckled darkly. "A new toy to play with when I get my hands on it?" he muttered. "How very interesting…"

"Don't even bother!" Danny glowered at his evil counterpart. "After I told my parents about you, they redesigned it so that it only recognizes my ectoplasmic core and DNA signature. If you tried to use it you'd just get blasted by its anti-theft mechanisms since you're a combination of my ghost half and Plasmius. I still don't even know why Clockwork let you free in the first place!"

"All in good time," his mentor responded calmly, ignoring the string of angry curses from Dan at the realization that the supposed idiots he once called his parents had actually outsmarted him. "Danny, do you know why I called you here today?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't have a clue," he admitted. "I just thought that it was because you wanted to show me something important for our training…or an impending disaster that I'm going to have to save the world from. Again."

Clockwork smirked. "Though this may come as a great shock to you given the events of your life up to now," he responded wryly, "I am happy to tell you that this is actually good news for a change. Danny, I've convened with the Observants and the Ghost Elders, and we've agreed to give you a special honor as a reward for saving our worlds many times from destruction. Even if one of those times was technically your fault to begin with," he gestured towards Dan, who growled but said nothing. "We will have to depart from my tower to show you my gift."

Danny looked at his mentor quizzically. "And you're actually leaving Dan here by himself? Doesn't that scream 'bad idea'?"

"If he starts causing problems, he ceases to exist. End of story."

"Wow," his student whistled. "I didn't know you could be so vicious."

"Time can be cruel and time can be kind," Clockwork replied with a cold smile as the two of them departed from the tower.

_The Ghost Zone_

As Danny accompanied Clockwork to whatever his master wanted to show him, he could see that they were beginning to enter more familiar territory where he would be much more likely to encounter one of his enemies. "Uh…Clockwork…?" he asked. "Aren't you at least a little concerned about us getting attacked?"

"The ghosts here already feared invoking my wrath before my battle with your evil self," he said reassuringly. "And as for afterwards…" his eyes narrowed. "Let's just say that news travels quickly in the Ghost Zone."

Danny made a mental note never to make an enemy of the ghost of time as the two continued on their journey, occasionally exchanging small talk but otherwise making the journey in relative silence. It wasn't until a few minutes later that they came upon a gigantic but empty floating island, about the same size as Skulker's without any landmarks or features.

"Clockwork? What…exactly…am I looking at?"

His master smiled at him. "Remember the reward I was speaking about earlier? You're looking at it, Danny. You've been granted your own realm and domain in the Ghost Zone, and a very large territory at that."

"My own…my….my…my own…" he spluttered, his mind going haywire as he tried to process what had just happened within the last few seconds.

"Once you get over the shock that this news has just given you, you are going to ask me why your new island looks so empty. I assume that this is correct?"

"You really needed to ask?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

Clockwork chuckled. "The reason why this island is empty right now is because the nature of your new realm is based entirely on your own will, Danny, and how you wish to shape it. Because you have not yet directed your attention and focus to creating your domain, it has remained as empty land. Now that you are aware of your new territory, you can transform it into whatever form you deem fit. That is something for you and you alone to determine."

"Wow…" Danny muttered. "I'm going to need some time to think about this…"

"If you want I can literally give you as much time as you need," Clockwork offered, and they both smirked at his joke.

"Can I ask you something, Clockwork?" Danny suddenly asked. "It doesn't have anything to do with this new realm of mine, but I figured it's worth asking anyway. Why haven't there been a lot of ghosts coming after me lately? I pretty much begged my parents to repair the Ghost Portal so I could travel between Earth and the Ghost Zone more freely, but you'd think that plenty of my old enemies would come back, mess around with Amity Park, and carry on with the same old same old. Do you know something about this?"

The Master of Time was about to answer when suddenly a beam of ecto-energy and several missiles blasted toward Danny. The halfa instinctively erected a shield around himself, blocking the attacks and sending the projectiles flying harmlessly away. "Oh, great…" Danny groaned. "I just had to open my mouth…"

"Whelp!" an all-too-familiar voice yelled. "You know what it's time for! Now that you have foolishly decided to enter the Ghost Zone on your own, it will be all the easier for me to mount your pelt on my wall before the day is through!"

"I don't need you wasting my time and ruining my day right now, Skulker!" Danny shouted back. "I've got more important things to deal with! And besides, who says I'm alone?" the halfa suddenly grinned and crossed his arms, pointing at Clockwork, "I happen to have a friend here who wouldn't be very happy if you went through with your hunt."

Skulker's eyes shifted towards the ghost who Danny was pointing at…and instantly his ectoplasm went cold with fear. It was nigh impossible to keep secrets in the Ghost Zone, and despite the Observants' efforts to conceal the knowledge of the ruined future, he and several other ghosts had heard all about Dan Phantom, the atrocities he'd committed in his corrupted future, and his brutal defeat at the hands of the Time Master.

A Time Master who, at the moment, was glaring at him menacingly with narrowed eyes, daring him to attack his student.

Overwhelmed with a sudden urge to get the hell out of there as soon as possible, Skulker pressed the "Eject" button in his armor and his tiny true form blasted outward, flying all the way back to his island. He did NOT plan on staying around two of the most powerful ghosts in the Ghost Zone by himself.

"Wow," Danny whistled as Skulker disappeared into the distance, "I need to start hanging around you more often."

"Since your summer vacation has started and your parents will not be travelling anywhere, that can easily be arranged," Clockwork replied with a smile. "But in the meantime, Daniel…think about what you want to do with your realm. It can be simply your second home in the Ghost Zone, or it can be a place where many ghosts can interact freely with you or each other. And while I do know what your choice will be, that choice is entirely your own to make and I will not force anything upon you."

Danny looked again at the vast, empty land that he could now call his own. So many possibilities, so many options! He shifted his gaze away from his island and towards the Ghost Zone at large. He knew quite a few of the realms of the other ghosts by now, having travelled through the dimension of the undead multiple times. But there was something he'd always thought was missing, something that he'd seen only once during the annual Christmas truce…

"The ghosts here…" he said slowly. "Do they have any place to….you know, hang around? Kick back and relax? Because now that I think about it, I feel like the reason why ghosts keep invading my hometown is because this place feels so, so…"

"Empty?" Clockwork supplied. "Boring? The Ghost Zone has always been a fairly isolationist place, Danny, at least where interactions among ghosts are concerned. Most ghosts stick to their own realms without interacting with others except in times where unity is necessary or desired, such as the battle against Pariah Dark, the saving of the planet from what Earth calls the Disasteroid, and the Christmas Truce. It is not something that everyone necessarily agrees with, but it is just the intrinsic nature of Ghost Zone society."

As his mentor finished speaking, Danny's mind flashed back to several of the ghosts he had met and fought with. His mind drifted to ghosts who he considered more as aggressive rivals instead of legitimately evil villains: Johnny 13, Kitty, Youngblood, even Ember after he had paid closer attention to the lyrics of "Remember"…from what he had gathered from their personalities none of them would be very satisfied with sitting around in the Ghost Zone doing nothing all day…could part of the reason why they invaded Amity Park be because they were just too bored to do anything else? Were some of them outright lonely with their lives here?

Suddenly, an idea crept into his mind. What if he turned his realm into a place where the ghosts could come together to just have fun, no plans for destruction or world domination involved? It wasn't like he needed this entire place entirely to himself; no matter how much he enjoyed being a ghost and wandering the Ghost Zone, Danny would always put his human life over his ghost life until the day he died. And if the ghosts were busy enjoying themselves, they wouldn't be coming over to Amity Park and ruining everyone's day. They get to have fun for a change, Amity Park becomes safer, and Danny himself could live his life without having to deal with ghost attacks 24/7.

"It appears you have a plan in mind, Danny. Would you care to share it?"

Danny grinned. If this worked out, everyone, ghost and human alike, would be a winner. "Clockwork, you know everything, right? What would the Ghost Zone be like if it suddenly had a public bar, a park, and a dueling arena?"

/

Danny certainly likes to think big, doesn't he? But making his new realm in the Ghost Zone the way he wants certainly won't be easy to accomplish without a little help…

I hope my characters weren't drastically OOC or otherwise had any glaring faults. Except for maybe Clockwork since I always imagined he had a badass, ruthless side that he rarely displays unless he gets really pissed. Especially considering how often he flips the Observants off.

Read and review please!


	2. Chapter 2 - Negotiations with the Warden

Since this is the last day before my college life starts again and I had nothing to do, I figured this would be a good time to write up another chapter!

Chapter 2 – Negotiations with the Warden

_Fenton Headquarters_

"Mom? Dad? I'm back home!" Danny called to his parents as he flew through the Fenton Ghost Portal and sealed it behind him. Jack and Maddie Fenton both looked up from whatever experiments they were working on and quickly rushed over to greet their son.

"Danny, m'boy! How did your meeting with Clockwork go?" Jack asked his son eagerly as he hugged him. "Did he teach you something that will make you an even bigger and better Fenton ghost hero than ever before?"

"Not this time, Dad, no," Danny laughed as he shook his head. "It was something else this time around that he needed to talk to me about." He quickly explained how Clockwork had given him his new realm in the Ghost Zone and his plans for turning it into a public location for all to enjoy.

"Danny, that's a really selfless way of sharing your land, and I'm proud of you for coming up for something like that!" Maddie praised when Danny had finished describing his plans. "But…well, I don't know how long this kind of thing will take, but it sounds like it will take a while to make, and some of your enemies could try and attack you while you're busy."

"We could come with Danny and protect him while he makes his home away from home," Jack suggested. "I'll tear apart any ghost who dares to try and hurt by son, molecule by molecule!"

"Jack!" Maddie scolded. "I thought we agreed not to use that kind of language around Danny anymore!"

"Oh, right…" Jack grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Danny…"

Danny shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he replied nonchalantly, unbothered by his father's choice in language since the context was quite different than it had been in the past. "Though in all honesty, Dad, I think I'll be fine as long as I come prepared."

"Mhm…" Maddie thought for a moment. She believed her son could take care of himself, but there was no way her maternal instincts were going to just let him spend time alone in the Ghost Zone without her and Jack helping him as much as possible first. "You should probably take the Ecto-Skeleton when you go back. It couldn't hurt to have that power boost handy," she suggested.

Jack grinned at Maddie's idea. "Those ghosts are gonna think twice about messing with the great Danny Phantom, Protector of Amity Park, in the highest quality Fenton power armor!" he proclaimed proudly.

"Me? Using the brand new, glitch-free Ecto-Skeleton? With my parents' permission?" Danny shouted excitedly. "Count me in, I'm sure not complaining!"

Maddie laughed. "Glad to see you're so enthusiastic about your new present, Danny," she said before calming down. "But back to business. I was also going to suggest that you try and make an ally out of an enemy or two."

"That's, uh, kinda the whole point of turning my realm into a bar and all those other things I just mentioned," Danny deadpanned.

"Oh, I know that…" his mom explained. "What I'm saying is you should get some ghosts on your side before you try something like this. Your enemies are still your enemies, after all!"

Danny looked questioningly at Maddie. "Do you have any specific ones in mind, mom?"

"If she doesn't, I know just where to look!" Jack declared. "Let's fire up the good ol' Fenton Ghost Database, for all your ghost analyzing needs!"

/

A few minutes later, the three members of the Fenton family were busily scrolling through one of the Fenton lab computers, Maddie and Jack trying to identify ghosts that could be useful as allies for Danny or at least would make things a lot easier if they were no longer enemies.

"Hmmm…" Jack hummed, "here's one. Says here he's one of the most ancient and powerful ghosts in the Zone. How's the Fright Knight sound, eh Danny?"

Danny immediately shook his head fervently. "Oh, no. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, no. Remember that Ghost King that attacked Amity Park a couple of months back? That was the guy in charge of the invasion. Trust me, dad, trying to negotiate with the Fright Knight is a bad, bad, idea."

Jack grimaced. "No kidding. Okay then, moving on!" He closed out the Fright Knight's file and continued scrolling down the list of names. "No…no…"

"Wait!" Maddie exclaimed, pointing to one of the names at the bottom of the list. "Open up that one!"

Danny read the name on the file. "Walker?"

"Isn't he the warden of some prison or something?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Danny rolled his eyes. "Enforcer of the rules of the Ghost Zone or something like that. Supposedly he's the guy in charge of "law and order," though half the time he just makes up his own rules to do whatever the heck he wants." Danny smirked, closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Lucky for me, the ghost elders also gave me exemption from Walker's rules as long as I don't do anything blatantly bad. Oh, it feels good to be the hero!"

"Wait a minute…" Maddie gasped. "That's it! Walker would make a great ally!"

Danny opened his eyes in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Think about it, Danny!" Maddie explained, her enthusiasm only increasing as she elaborated her plan. "Walker's a pretty important figure in the Ghost Zone, right? You just said it yourself, everyone follows his rules because they don't want to end up in jail! Think about the amount of safety you'd have if you had someone like that backing you up!"

"Son, when it comes to getting things done, there's nothing quite like the iron fist of the law in your corner to give you the boost you need," Jack added. "Maddie, you're a genius!"

Danny was stunned. His parents acted so goofy all the time that he'd completely forgotten that they were actually really intelligent when they needed to be. "There's just a slight problem with that, mom," he held up a finger and pointed it at Walker. "He," he moved to the finger to himself, "and me…we, uh, don't exactly get along. Heck he was the one behind the scheme to make me look like a villain all the way back then. Even though he can't hurt me now, I'm pretty sure he still hates my guts."

"Danny," His dad placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "You were born with the Fenton genius intellect. I'm sure that you'll think of something to get the job done!"

Danny nodded absently, thinking back to all of the times he had had to face off with Walker. As he did so, he realized that he DID know a way he might get on Walker's good side. "Mom? Dad?" he turned to his parents and gave them a calculating grin. "I'm gonna need that new Fenton thermos."

_Five Hours Later, Ghost Zone_

"I'm hanging around this place a lot more than is probably healthy," Danny thought wryly as he flew towards Walker's Prison. As he did so, he couldn't help but think about Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. He had been tempted to bring them along with him in a Fenton ship, but ultimately decided that it would be best if he went alone. Danny knew that his friends and sister would loyally follow him into Hell itself, but the risk that came with negotiating with Walker was too high for him to call on their help.

The ghost hero frowned as he thought of Sam. They had dated for quite a few months before ultimately splitting up. Danny had thought that Sam would be the perfect girlfriend for him, but he'd soon realized that the relationship just didn't feel right. He'd missed the "best friend" and "battle partner" relationship that he'd had with Sam before they'd dated, and ultimately they decided that the best way to keep their friendship strong was to just bring it back to the way things were.

"Some things just don't work out the way you think they would," Danny mused as Walker's prison came into his line of vision. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn't have Walker breathing down his back while he tried to carry out his plans for his lair.

_Walker's Prison_

"Sir?"

Walker looked up from the paperwork he had been working on in his office. "What is it, Bullet?"

"It's Phantom, sir. He's in the waiting room of the prison. He says he has some kind of peace offering for you."

Walker snorted in disgust. Phantom might be exempt from his rules thanks to the Elders, but up until now that punk had proven to be nothing but trouble. Still, he hated doing paperwork when the best part of his job was being executioner, executioner, and executioner.

"Whatever this punk's _peace offering_ is," the warden snarled as he got up from his desk, "it better be good."

/

Danny looked up as he heard footsteps coming down the prison corridor. Standing close by were Walker, Bullet, and two of their guards. "Bullet here says you have a peace offering for me, kid," Walker growled. "Whatever your business here is, son, it better be worth my time."

"Oh, it is," the ghost hero promised. "But first, I'm gonna need you to take me to an empty cell." He held out a Fenton Thermos. "You probably don't want me spilling out the contents here."

Walker raised an eyebrow skeptically but gestured for his soldiers to accompany Danny to an empty cell. As soon as one had been opened, Danny opened the thermos and released a frightening-looking ghost monster into the cell. The ghost roared angrily and lunged at the cell entrance, only to be blasted into submission by Walker's soldiers. Danny threw a fist at the criminal's face and sent it flying backward into the cell, before Bullet slammed the cell door shut and locked it up.

"Hey…" one of the soldiers suddenly pointed at the subdued criminal. "Isn't that guy, Nek'Maroth? He was on one of the wanted posters for robbing and destroying ghost lairs.

"Go check!" Walker ordered sharply. One of the soldiers quickly rushed down the hallway towards where Danny assumed the Wanted Posters were located. A few seconds later, the soldier ran back to them, looking excited and breathless.

"That's Nek'Maroth, all right!" the soldier confirmed. He quickly took out a machine and scanned the monster skulking about in the cell. "And the scanners indicate that this isn't a duplicate, it's the real one!"

Walker turned back to Danny, his expression just slightly less hostile than it had been initially. "Well, son, you've just saved us quite a bit of trouble by bringing him in for us," his gaze hardened again. "But not as much trouble as you caused for me in the past, punk! I won't deny you've got the right idea on how to get into my good graces, but I want more than just one criminal in this prison before we start talkin'!"

Danny smirked. "I thought you might say that," he replied nonchalantly. "What makes you think that was the only ghost criminal I caught?"

Before Walker could say anything else, Danny had already walked over to another empty cell and unlocked the thermos again. Another ghost criminal was hurled into the cell by the thermos and promptly beaten down by Bullet and the rest of the prison's guards. The warden could only watch in stunned amazement as Danny filled in a total of fifteen cells with criminals, all listed as extremely dangerous and violent beings from the prison's Wanted list.

Bullet quickly scanned all of the criminals' ecto-signatures to make sure the captives were the real deal. "The boy did it, warden! He caught fifteen criminals straight from the Wanted list by himself, no doubt about it!"

Danny smirked. "My parents upgraded the Fenton thermos so that it can capture more ghosts and more powerful ghosts at once," he explained offhandedly. "They also made it so that it simply evaporates duplicates instead of sucking them in, that's how I was able to tell if the criminals were trying to trick me into capturing a fake."

For several moments, Walker just stood there, completely unable to say a word. Then, suddenly, a grin started to spread across his face. "I never thought I'd say this, son, but maybe you're not quite as much a thorn in my side as I'd originally thought. You sure know how to deal with this lawless scum. Go cross off the captured criminals' wanted posters," he ordered one of the soldiers.

Danny shrugged, "Eh, I just do what I do best."

Walker nodded before suddenly his eyes narrowed. "I got a gut feeling that you aren't doing this just out of the goodness out of your heart, boy. What exactly do you want from me?"

Danny quickly explained how he had gotten his new realm and the plans he had for how he was going to develop it. Walker was about to interrupt him at the mention of a bar but Danny stopped him. "Don't worry, Walker. There's going to be rules, and I'm gonna make sure they're followed."

"And you need me to make sure those rules are enforced, is that right, punk?" Walker inferred.

"Well, I don't need to depend on your help entirely," Danny answered, "but having someone with experience in beating down troublemakers around…well, it certainly wouldn't hurt."

Walker thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll admit things around the prison can get a bit boring when there's nobody to catch," he decided. "I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, make sure you don't cause me any problems, punk, and you won't get any from me. Deal?"

"Deal!" Danny agreed enthusiastically, shaking the warden's hand. "Thanks again, Walker!"

The prison warden nodded, before remembering something. "By the way, kid, that mangy mutt Wulf got a pardon from Clockwork," he informed him. "He's hanging around Pandora's realm, if you care enough to go find him. I sure as hell don't anymore."

"All right, thanks for the heads-up, Walker!" Danny called back as he flew out of the prison. Walker smirked as he looked back at the criminals trapped in his prison.

"Name's Walker," he introduced himself to his new charges with a sadistic grin. "Know it, fear it, obey it! Today I'll be your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and if necessary, your executioner!"

_Pandora's Realm_

"Hey, Pandora!" Danny shouted as he approached the Acropolis of Athens. "Are you in there?"

The armored ghost elder quickly materialized above her maze, smiling gently as she watched Danny approach. "Hello there, Danny! I trust that Clockwork informed you about your new lair?"

"He sure did!" Danny grinned. "Right now, though, I'm looking for an old friend of mine. Have you seen Wulf around?"

"He's right here!" Pandora reached down into her maze and picked up the Esperanto-speaking wolf ghost. "In fact he's been hoping to see you again for some time."

"_Friend!" _Wulf rushed forward and locked Danny in a tight embrace. _"It is good to see you again!"_

"_Nice to see you too!"_ Danny replied in flawed but acceptable Esperanto. _"I can't wait to show you my new realm! You can make your home there, if you want, you'll always be welcome!"_

"_I can't wait!" _Wulf replied as Danny said his good-byes and thanks to Pandora. The two of them traveled onward, exchanging talk on how their lives had been going since they'd last seen each other.

"_A very nice, large territory!" _Wulf commented once the two of them had arrived at Danny's floating island. _"Though it looks like there's not much to it right now."_

Danny grinned at Wulf. _"Not for long, friend. Not for long. Let's get going, Wulf, we have a lot of work to do!"_

/

And that's the second chapter! It was actually fairly hard for me to write Jack's dialogue, though I think I did a decent job of keeping him in character. Maddie was a bit easier since from what I gathered from her personality she's the more level-headed and intellectual of the two Fenton parents.

Since Walker can't capture Danny anymore I figured that he'd take what he can get from the ghost hero. If Danny wants to help him capture criminals, why would he say no?

I know that Ember hasn't shown up in the fic yet, but don't worry. She'll be appearing starting the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3 - Phantom's Anger Unleashed

Chapter 3 – Phantom's Anger Unleashed

_Johnny 13 and Kitty's Realm_

"Ugh! Why is it so…utterly…frigging…BORING?" Kitty ranted as she "paced" around the floor of her and her boyfriend's realm, which they had created together in the form of an apartment filled with black biker motifs. "There's been literally NOTHING to do this entire week!" She picked up one of her red jackets and hurled it across the room.

"Don't look at me, Kitty," Johnny shrugged. "Nothin' ever changes in the Ghost Zone. Lately the only time we ever have fun is when we're scrapping with Phantom. Or at least whenever we get to have a night ride around Amity."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "True…so why exactly aren't we doing that right now?" she asked.

Johnny didn't say anything in response, instead looking intently at his other half. Seconds later, both of them smiled knowing that they had the exact same idea.

_Five Minutes Later_

"I just hope the Fentons forgot to lock their portal again," Johnny grunted as he and Kitty grabbed their helmets and walked towards their motorcycle in the garage. "Word is that they've been getting smarter about keeping that thing closed."

"We're not gonna find out waitin' around here, that's for sure!" his girlfriend retorted as they climbed on their bike.

"True that, kitten, true that. Shadow!" he ordered, "get the door, we're goin' for a ride!"

Johnny's shadow shot out from under Johnny and flew towards the entrance to their realm. Johnny hit the gas as his shadow opened the door…and yelled out in shock as two figures that had been standing on the opposite side dived out of the way in a panic. The biker couple narrowly avoided barreling over them as Shadow grabbed onto the bike to make sure his masters didn't fall off.

"Hey!" Johnny shouted angrily as he swerved around. "Watch where you're floating! You would've gotten us all killed if we weren't already dead!"

"Wait a minute…" Kitty interrupted him. "Ember? Youngblood? The heck are you two doing here?"

"Ugh…" Ember groaned as the two of them righted themselves. "Well, we WERE going to ask if you guys wanted to hang out, but clearly you two have other plans."

"All the other ghosts are stuck up in their own lairs working on _important business_," Youngblood accompanied the last part of his sentence with air quotes before snorting in disgust. "Yeah, right! And people wonder why I hate adults."

"Well, we were about to hit the road for a ride around Amity Park," Kitty explained. "We planned it to be just the two of us, but I don't see why we can't bring you guys along."

"Assuming the Fenton Portal's even open…" Ember muttered. She sighed, "still beats hanging around here, I guess."

Johnny stroked his chin for a second. "You know…" he thought out loud, "I've been hearing word that Phantom's been sighted a lot more around the Ghost Zone than normal recently. If we happen to run into him on the way to the Fenton Portal…"

"A chance to mess around with Baby-Pop? I'm in!" Ember declared as she slammed her right fist into the open palm of her left hand. "Either we make him open the portal so we can have all of Amity to ourselves for tonight's entertainment, or we make _him_ tonight's entertainment!"

She gave all of them a fierce grin. "Guys? It's time we paid Earth a little visit. Let's ride!"

The three of them cheered as Kitty and Johnny pressed on the gas and flew off into the distance, Ember and Youngblood flying close behind.

_Ten Minutes Later, Fenton Portal…_

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

Kitty picked up her bag and furiously slammed it repeatedly against the heavy metal doors that blocked access between the Ghost and Human worlds. "WHY THE HELL IS THIS THING LOCKED NOW OF ALL TIMES?" she screeched.

Johnny groaned and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Leave it to those Fenton nerds to use their brains at the worst possible times," he muttered.

"Ugh, this is just great!" Ember snapped. "So what the hell are we going to do now?"

Youngblood was about to half-heartedly suggest maybe a round of playing pretend as ninjas when suddenly the metal doors of the portal began to shudder and open.

"Wow, Johnny!" Kitty grinned. "Looks like your Shadow's bad luck powers decided to leave us alone for a change!" Shadow growled and rolled its eyes as the Fenton Portal fully opened. Kitty was about to turn intangible and fly into the portal when suddenly her boyfriend stopped her.

"Someone's coming!" Johnny warned. "If the punk and his parents are around we might be biting off more than we can chew! Everyone, hide!"

All four of the ghosts turned invisible as what appeared to be a massive battle suit suddenly flew through the metal doors. As soon as his new Ecto-Skeleton completed its journey through the portal to the Ghost Zone, Danny suddenly felt a wisp of cold blue mist exit his mouth, a sure sign that ghosts were nearby. Narrowing his eyes, he abruptly turned around, grabbed both doors with the Ecto-Skeleton's arms, and slammed them shut once with a resounding BOOM.

"There!" Danny declared with a satisfied smile. "Ghost Portal sealed, any ghosts stupid enough to think they can have a free haunting around town just because I'm not around, well, they have another thing coming!"

He was about to activate the rockets on the Ecto-Skeleton and fly off towards his domain when suddenly an angry female voice stopped him. "Hold it, dipstick!"

Danny's eyes narrowed at the familiar voice and he whirled around to see where it was coming from. Sure enough, Ember phased into existence, followed by Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood. "Don't think you can just fly off yet, little man," Johnny warned. "We need you to do a little something for us first."

"And, uh…what would that be?" the halfa raised an eyebrow.

"We just need you to open that portal and let us through," Kitty replied with a smirk. "You go on your way, we go on ours."

"Honestly, dude, we're just bored as all hell," Johnny explained in a dull tone. "All we want is to wander around Amity for a couple of hours just so we can actually do something that isn't smashing our heads against the wall out of sheer boredom. I promise we'll try to minimize the collateral damage."

Danny shook his head. "Hate to break it to you, Johnny, but my parents have their ghost security at max right now. You try to go in there, you're all gonna get blasted with a ton of security defenses that are designed to attack any ghost that doesn't have my unique ecto-signature."

"Hey, what!" Youngblood protested. "I thought your parents gave up on the whole tearing apart ghosts molecule-by-molecule thing!"

"They did," Danny agreed, "but that doesn't mean they still won't try to capture them and study them for a couple of weeks before sending them back in here. And besides," he pointed at Johnny and Kitty, "I might be okay if it was just you two," he then shifted his finger to Ember and Youngblood, "but you two…I don't trust you not to go around brainwashing my town or…whatever. This portal stays closed, and I am NOT going to go get the Infi-Map from Frostbite just so that the four of you can run amuck in my town!"

"All right then, dipstick," Ember snarled. If you won't let us out onto Earth, then I have no problems taking my frustration out on you!" Her eyes flashed green and she whipped out her guitar from behind her back. As she readied herself in battle position, Johnny's shadow jumped out from behind him poised to attack, while the rest of the ghosts held out their fists or whatever weapons they had on them.

Danny smirked. "You know, there's a couple of problems with your plan to try and pick a fight with me right now, but I'll just point out a few of them," he commented dryly. "One, recognize this suit? This is an upgraded Ecto-Skeleton that doesn't drain my life force anymore. Two, I have a Ghostly Wail. Three, this Ecto-Skeleton powers up all of my moves. INCLUDING that Ghostly Wail I just mentioned. Still feeling cocky, Ember?"

The ghosts' aggressive behavior instantly evaporated. "Crud…" Youngblood muttered as he realized how outmatched they actually were.

"Hold on, I'm not done," Danny interrupted him. "I've been doing some training for a while and I've been waiting to test it out. So, to make things a bit more fair…" To everyone's shock, the Ecto-Skeleton dome opened and he suddenly leapt out until he was floating at the same level as the rest of them.

"Wulf?" He called out to his fearsome canine friend, who immediately materialized in front of them. "You mind taking this back to my parent's lab?" Wulf nodded and opened a portal with his claws. He quickly grabbed onto the Ecto-Skeleton and pushed it into the swirling vortex he had created, before following it and disappearing in a flash.

"All right then, it's just you five and me!" Danny declared as he punched a fist into his open palm. "Ready?"

"Ha!" Ember taunted as she placed her fingers on her guitar. "You should have stayed in that Ecto-Skeleton, Baby-pop, cause in case you're too dense to notice the numbers are on our side!"

"You're right, Ember!" Danny agreed with a grin of his own. His body suddenly began to glow green. "So I think I'll even the odds!" There was a flash of light as four duplicates of Danny suddenly popped into existence, two on each side.

Johnny's mouth dropped in astonishment. "Since when could he do that?" he thought blankly, but before he could say anything one of the duplicates suddenly fired an ecto-blast right at Johnny's shadow, sending it flying backward with a screech a few feet deeper down the Ghost Zone.

"Times have changed, Johnny! And so have I!" Danny replied with a grin before he and his duplicates attacked.

_Clockwork's Tower_

"Impressive," Clockwork thought as he watched the battle unfold between Danny and the four ghosts (five counting Shadow). "It appears that Danny has been practicing his duplication abilities extensively since I taught him how to use that ability. With the innate power he possesses he is capable of even greater potential than what most ghosts are capable of, but for now he is doing well with what he has learned."

Dan grunted dismissively. "Duplication? Bah! I'm not impressed. That is an art that any self-respecting ghost should be able to learn in time," he snorted. "A real lesson for my weaker half would be how he can inspire fear in the hearts of others so that none would ever dare to challenge his power."

"The future of the boy has been irrevocably changed, Phantom," Clockwork curtly replied. "He will never become the hate-filled abomination that now stands before me."

"You've wiped away all traces of my presence in time save for the basic fact of my existence," Dan snarled back. "I was supposed to be the boy's future, you meddling old man, and it was only because of your interference that I failed. And what's left?" he sneered. "A sniveling, groveling weakling forever at the beck and call of others to 'serve' and 'protect' the Earth. How utterly boring! How utterly pathetic!"

"And what would you have Danny Phantom become then, if not you?" Clockwork replied coolly. "You and I both know full well that I will not allow you to turn him to the ways of evil."

"He has darkness in him as well as light," the evil alternate self of Phantom retorted. "Don't bother denying it, Clockwork, the very fact that I was allowed into existence at all proves my words. Up until now, it's always been the same-old save the world from an evil ghost and be a hero routine, the same predictable cycle. But what happens when something brings out his worst qualities? Will he still be that same Savior everyone knows and loves?"

Dan's lips stretched into a menacing grin. "When you made me that offer to train him that one time, do you want to know why I agreed? I made sure to bring out my weaker self's darkness and make it become just as much a part of him as his light," he hissed. "And when the time comes to test his will, if his own evil overwhelms him, Clockwork, then despite your meddling my reality may become his future after all.

"And what if the light overcomes the darkness?" Clockwork replied coolly. "What if, despite all of YOUR best efforts, good overcomes evil as it has always done in the past?"

Dan didn't say anything for several moments. "Then maybe…just maybe," his captive/charge finally admitted through gritted teeth, "I will gain the tiniest amount of respect for Danny Phantom."

_The Ghost Zone, Fenton Portal_

"Urgh!" Johnny grunted as he was thrown backward by an ecto-attack from Danny and crashed into Kitty and Youngblood. "The hell…how…did he get…so…tough…" he thought as he struggled to get on his feet.

"Had enough yet?" the halfa taunted as his eyes scanned over his four opponents. Three of his duplicates had been destroyed in the battle, but he himself had only suffered minor wounds and over the course of the battle he had managed to take out Johnny, Youngblood, and Kitty. The only reason the battle hadn't ended in a crushing victory for Danny several seconds ago was because he had refused to use his Ghostly Wail, an act of restraint and fair play that they grudgingly had to give him credit for.

"Not even close, dipstick!" Ember snarled back as she unleashed another shockwave from her guitar. Out of the four of them, she was by far not only the most dangerous fighter but also the least injured from the fight so far. Her attack struck the last duplicate directly in the stomach, causing it to disappear with a shocked yell. Only Danny himself was left.

Ember didn't waste any time, immediately following up her initial attack with a mind control spell that spiraled toward Danny. When that spell hit him, it would have her enemy following her every whim…or so she believed. Danny didn't even bother trying to dodge it, allowing her brainwashing ability to hit him with its full force. And to her astonishment and horror, Phantom only laughed as the spell connected.

"Mind control?" Danny mocked. "Really, Ember? How long has it been since you tried to lovesong me? Two years? Hate to break it to you, but the same tricks don't work on me anymore!"

"Laugh it up while you still can, dipstick!" Ember retorted, "Because I've got a new one right here!" She turned the knob on her guitar that controlled its spells and showed the icon it was pointing at to Danny. The ghost hero's confident smile faded as he realized that it was pointing at a new icon. A lightning bolt icon.

"I've done a little research on you, dipstick. You always were sensitive to a nice little shock in your system. So now's as good a time as any for me to bring on the thunder!"

Before Danny could say a word, Ember blasted a chord on her guitar with her fingers. Instantly, a massive bolt of electricity erupted from the guitar, striking Danny all across his entire body.

"Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh!" the ghost hero exclaimed in anger and pain as the lightning crackled around him. He closed his eyes and struggled against the ruthless electricity, trying to break free of Ember's attack.

"Want me to stop, baby pop?" Ember asked in a mock concerned tone. "Just open the portal, turn off the defenses, and we'll be on our way."

But Danny wasn't paying attention to her anymore. As the electric attack pounded across his body, images of a recent time began to flash across his mind, a memory of even greater pain than what he was enduring right now.

_Flashback, Clockwork's Realm, One Month Ago_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Danny's scream echoed throughout the realm. Dan's fangs flashed in the light as he blasted his original self with as much electric energy as Clockwork would permit. Danny turned to the Master of Time, his eyes pleading to help, but for once Clockwork was refusing to show mercy towards his student, staring coolly down at the halfa with his red eyes.

"In many aspects, you are powerful, Danny," Clockwork said, loudly enough for him to fear over the crackle of lightning from Dan's hands. "That nobody can deny. But one characteristic of yours that has always been quite lacking is your physical endurance. Dodge and weave and evade all you want, but sooner or later, your luck will run out. And all of your dexterity against a thousand failed attacks will mean nothing if you cannot withstand the one that succeeds."

"Errrrggghhhh…." Danny groaned as Dan finally ended his attack. He collapsed onto his knees, clutching his body protectively with one hand.

"Do you know why I have allowed Dan to conduct your training in physical endurance for me, Danny?" Clockwork asked, his voice betraying nothingness.

"I don't know, Clockwork," Danny answered sarcastically. "If I could guess Dan's reason, I'd say this would be a great time for him to get as much revenge on me as you'd let him."

"I won't deny that," Clockwork agreed. "But the real reason why is because there is nobody who would attack you with greater force and hate than your own worst enemy. And if you can successfully overcome that level of pain, pain fueled by the full measure of his hatred, then you can withstand _anything_." The Time Master turned to Dan and nodded. "Give him a minute to recover. Then zap him again!"

Dan grinned. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure," he hissed. A minute later, Danny's agonized shouts echoed as his entire body was subject to yet another blast of lightning.

"Look at you," the Dark Phantom taunted as he continued his assault. "It's unbelievable how weak and pathetic I must have been ten years ago. What would your beloved town say if they saw their great hero and savior, slaving and crawling on his knees like a wounded lapdog?"

"Errrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…." was all Danny could gasp out in reply.

"What will you do now, Daniel Phantom?" Dan spat at his past self, his eyes narrowed and his voice laden with hate. "You have only two options. Surrender to your pain and my wrath, or get over it and fight me like a man. You know which one I would prefer. So CHOOSE!" He shouted the last word as he blasted Danny even harder than before.

"Errrrggghhh…..arrrgggghhhh…I…won't…give…in…" Danny managed to snarl out. "I beat you before. And I can do it again." He raised his voice as he gathered his strength. "Right here!" And then, for the very first time in his entire existence as a halfa, his irises flashed red with the full extent of his fury, "RIGHT NOW!"

The Dark Phantom's eyes widened at the sudden change as Danny slowly but steadily climbed onto his feet, his ghostly aura now blazing the same nightmarish red as his eyes. Danny reared back and unleashed his Ghostly Wail straight at the unprepared evil incarnation. But now his Wail was far different than it had been in the past. The pulses, once a sickly green, were now a bloody red and came with a much faster frequency and power. And the terrible sound from Danny's mouth, normally an unearthly howl, had been replaced by a downright demonic roar. Dan was sent flying backward by the amplified Ghostly Wail, smashing straight into one of the giant gears floating around Clockwork's tower. The Dark Phantom could barely muster enough energy to keep his essence intact as Danny's waves of empowered energy smashed into him again and again, shattering the glass faces of the clocks surrounding them. It was only after Dan fell onto his knees, utterly overwhelmed by Danny's wrath, did the ghost hero finally cease his attack, eyes burning with hate and exhaustion at the future he only narrowly had managed to avert.

"Arrrrgggghhhhhh…." Dan growled as he struggled to regain his strength. Inside though, he was smiling at the hidden victory he had achieved. Danny's dark side had been unleashed, and now it would only be a matter of time before it resurfaced again.

_End Flashback_

As Danny writhed and struggled to overcome Ember's Ghost Stinger attack, Kitty was the first to notice the warning signs as his eyes suddenly change from their familiar green. "Uh, guys…?" she asked uncertainly. "Have any of you ever seen Phantom's eyes turn red before?"

Johnny looked where Kitty was pointing at and shuddered at the sight, understanding immediately that something was very wrong. "Ember!" he called out warningly to the Ghost Rocker. "Stop! Something's wrong with the little man! Something's very wrong!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Ember snapped back. But before she could say any more, she found herself at the receiving end of gigantic ecto-ray that blasted her several feet away, abruptly ending her assault. The ghost diva looked furiously back towards Danny, ready to unleash another attack…and saw for the first time what the biker couple had been talking about. Danny's eyes and entire body were blazing scarlet with anger, his former kindheartedness utterly gone. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she saw him for the first time not just ready to fight, but ready to kill.

And he wasn't done. Danny held out his hands and fired a full volley of ecto-blasts and spheres, now sending Ember on the defensive as she desperately tried to dodge and weave through the ruthless assault. Kitty, Johnny, and Youngblood all watched in stunned silence as they watched Danny float closer to Ember, who by now was trying to fire incinerator, punch, and skull beams at the hero to try and repel his approach. Either Danny no longer felt the pain or he just didn't care, because the two of them were soon right next to each other. Growing desperate, Ember tried to physically swing her guitar at Danny's face to try and attack him that way, but Danny grabbed the instrument mid-swing and then, to everyone's shock, punched the ghost rocker directly in the face with an ecto-empowered fist.

"Whoa…" Johnny breathed. "Has Phantom EVER hit a girl before?"

"Well, yeah…" Kitty answered, "but he's always done it with ecto-blasts and stuff. An actual physical attack? First time I've seen that!"

Ember reeled back from Danny's punch as the Phantom Hero ripped the guitar out of her hands. He lifted the instrument with both hands into the air, ready to smash it to pieces against his knee.

"Don't you DARE break my guitar!" Ember roared as her own eyes flashed the same red as Danny's irises and her hair burst into flame.

"You didn't seem to care what happened to it last time I stole it," Danny sneered. "So what's the big deal now?"

Ember was about to answer but Youngblood beat her to it. "That wasn't her actual guitar, Phantom!" the kid ghost shouted. "That was just a copy! The one you're holding is the real one! Give it back to her, this isn't funny anymore!"

"If you break Ember's guitar, you'll destroy the one thing that makes her afterlife worth living!" Kitty added, genuinely scared for her friend. "It'll take years for her to rebuild it and her power!"

Doubt began to creep back into Danny's face. His enemies could see a hint of his old self returning, struggling to take control back from the anger.

"Little man…" Johnny asked. His shadow was poised to attack, but its master held it back. If he attacked now, it could mean complete disaster for everyone. "Do you really hate us that much?"

The ghost hero looked at the ghost diva more carefully. The rage was still there, make no mistake, but now Danny could see other emotions. Fear, desperation, and…was that despair? Despair at what would happen if he went through with his plan to break Ember's guitar?

"_You don't get it, do you?" _Dan's voice hissed into his mind. _"I'm still here. I still exist. That means __**you**__ still turn into __**me**__."_

He'd seen what Dan had done to the ghosts in the future. Johnny, crippled and trapped into a wheelchair. The Box Ghost, his eye and arm ripped out from him. He hadn't even seen Lunch Lady or Youngblood, had they been outright destroyed in the future he had managed to prevent? And Ember, her vocal cords and her aspirations of being a rock star forever ripped out from her throat by Dan's Ghostly Wail. Wouldn't destroying Ember's guitar be something that Dan would do without a second's thought? And what would that say about him if he did the same?

"_Don't worry, I won't turn into that, NEVER. I promise!"_

He'd made that promise to his friends and family, back before he'd defeated Dan. But seeing the four ghosts in front of him, Danny realized that if he was going to hold true to his word, he couldn't treat anybody the way his evil self had. Not his friends, not his enemies, not anybody.

As Danny's anger left him, the four ghosts could see his aura and eyes slowly flicker back to their normal green. "Hey Ember…" Danny called quietly, "catch." He tossed the guitar over to Ember, who caught it, stunned.

"Youngblood's right…" he muttered. "Fun time's over." And before anyone could say or do anything, Danny flew off into the Ghost Zone and disappeared from sight.

The four ghosts floated there silently for several moments. Danny had utterly crushed them in their battle, nobody was going to deny that. So why…why had he seemed so utterly exhausted and almost depressed at the end? What had made him so hellishly angry in the first place, and what had stopped him from crossing the point of no return?

"You took this way too far!" Johnny snapped at Ember. "What the hell made you think torturing the punk until he went full ghost was a good idea?"

"What are you yelling at me for?" Ember shouted back. "That lightning setting isn't even my most powerful attack! I've seen the dipstick get hit with far worse and I've hit him with worse! How the hell was I supposed to know that he was gonna go insane on me?"

"Calm down, both of you!" Kitty decided to take charge. "We have to find out what sent Phantom on the fritz and get help him get over it, or else who knows what will happen the next time he fights a ghost?"

Youngblood looked up at her skeptically. "And just how are we going to do that? I don't know about you, but I don't plan on going after Danny to find out!"

Johnny thought for a moment. "I know somebody who might help," he said. He took out his phone and dialed a number. Kitty looked over at the number and yanked the phone out of his hand.

"Care to tell me why exactly you have Phantom's sister's number on your phone?" Kitty asked sharply.

"Aww, c'mon babe, haven't I kept my promise that I'd keep my eyes off other girls for an entire month now?" Johnny protested. "Besides, this was when I was trying to get her as your host all the way back then."

Kitty's gaze softened and she nodded as Johnny dialed the number.

_Fenton Works_

"Wonder who that could be?" Jazz said aloud as she picked up her phone and let the call connect. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jazz?"

Jazz's eyes narrowed as she recognized the voice. "What do YOU want, Johnny?" she snapped, the memory of his actions still fresh in her mind.

"Listen Jazz…we need to talk to you about something important. It's about Danny."

/

This chapter was definitely the hardest one to write so far! Since Danny and Ember are still technically enemies by the end of Phantom Planet, I wanted to make sure that was how their relationship started out in this fic.

Read and review please!


	4. Chapter 4 - Revelations

A/N: The last chapter was Ember at her worst. Her personality and opinion of Danny will start to improve from this chapter onward, though the relationship part with Danny won't be happening yet.

Chapter 4 – Revelations

_Fenton Works_

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Jazz grumbled as she led her four unexpected visitors into the living room. "You are so lucky that my parents are gonna be out for the whole night."

"Thanks for lettin' us in, Jazz," Johnny said as he sat down on the couch. "I know what you think about me, and trust me, I wouldn't have called unless it was serious business."

"We…we had a battle…the four of us against him," Ember admitted. "The dipstick got a hell of a lot stronger over the last couple of months. He beat down Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood pretty quickly, and I was just so sick of being trapped in the Ghost Zone for weeks on end without anything do. I…kinda lost control of myself and blasted Baby-pop with an electric strike from my guitar."

"But for some reason," Youngblood picked up where his friend left off, "Danny went completely berserk! He actually punched Ember in the face and nearly destroyed her guitar. Her REAL guitar. His eyes turned red for the first time and, let me tell you, that was the scariest thing I've seen in a LONG time!"

Jazz shuddered at the description. It sounded completely unlike the loving and kindhearted brother she had grown up with all her life. "I don't get it," she replied, both confused and disturbed. "I know you guys don't get along with my brother, but he never hated any of you, at least not to the point that he'd brutally attack you like that. There's only one ghost I know who could bring up that kind of reaction."

"Dan Phantom?" Johnny asked quietly. Jazz instantly tensed, eyes narrowed.

"What do you know about him?" she hissed, all of them suddenly recoiling at the unexpected ferocity in her voice.

"All we know is that he escaped from the thermos in Clockwork's tower a few months ago," Kitty answered. "From what I heard, Clockwork beat the everloving crap out of Dan and is keeping him prisoner in his tower for eternity. Part of the reason why there's been so few ghost attacks lately is because nobody wants to go up against a pissed Master of Time now that Danny's been hanging around with him."

"A monster like Dan shouldn't even be allowed to exist!" Jazz almost shouted.

"All we know is that the evil version of the dipstick did some messed up stuff in his timeline," Ember replied after Jazz had calmed down. "Is he really that horrible?"

"You guys have no idea," Jazz muttered. "Sit back and listen up, because this is gonna take a while…"

_An Hour Later_…

"You can't be serious!" Ember shouted, her normal "bad girl" attitude completely replaced with genuine horror. "He tore out my vocal chords _just to get a sick kick_?"

"He trapped Johnny in a wheelchair forever by smashing his motorbike repeatedly against his legs AND he destroyed Youngblood and the Lunch Lady?" Kitty added, feeling just as sickened and disgusted as her best friend.

"Oh God, I think I'm gonna hurl…" Youngblood shuddered violently. "How could anyone, let alone _Phantom_, do something like this?"

"You guys see now why Danny hates his alternate self so much?" Jazz finished quietly. "Even though he successfully stopped that future from happening, he still has to live with that shadow of his dark side and looming over him, and I don't think that will ever go away."

"Wow," Johnny murmured. "I'd go nuts if I had to deal with that too."

"It still doesn't make any sense!" Ember insisted, throwing her hands up into the air in frustration. "Look, I admit I went too far. I shouldn't have zapped baby-pop like I did. I get that, I really do. But all I did was attack him with what I thought would be a weak point. If he went crazy on Dan, then I'd completely understand. Heck, I'd be whaling on that creep right next to him! But why would he do that to me?"

"You tell me!" Jazz snapped at her, her anger flaring. "Because from what I'm hearing it sounds like you did something to remind him of Dan!"

"Look, dipstick," Ember retorted back. "Go ahead and think what you want of me. But I can guarantee you that I'd never knowingly stoop to that creep's level. Just because I want to brainwash people and rule the world doesn't mean I'm a heartless monster!"

She was expecting Danny's sister to keep hurling insults at her. But to her surprise, Jazz's anger faded and she lowered her head. "I know you're not," she replied quietly, "and so does Danny. It's the reason why he stopped himself from smashing your guitar to pieces."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked.

"I'll show you," Jazz replied. She got up from her chair and led them up to the Emergency Ops Center, where a giant computer was waiting for them. Jazz logged onto the Fenton Ghost Database and began showing the four ghosts the files that Danny had compiled on them. "Danny's been doing research on all of the ghosts he's encountered over the years. He wanted to understand you guys more instead of following mom and dad's old approach of shoot first, ask questions never." She opened up the file on Johnny and Kitty, letting the four of them read it, before opening up Youngblood's and showing it to them as well.

"Holy crap…" Johnny muttered in awe. "I didn't know Phantom understood us so well. Or that he actually cares about what happened to us."

"If you think that's good, just wait til you see Ember's," Jazz replied with a small smile. She quickly opened up Ember's file and showed it to her. "Read it, rock star."

The four of them crowded around to read what Danny had written about her. "There was a time, back when I first met Ember, that I thought she was just an egomaniacal bitch, like Paulina or Starr. But soon after I decided to actually listen to Ember's songs instead of just tossing them aside, and one of them caught my attention: Remember."

"My most important song…" Ember thought distantly as she kept reading.

"I paid close attention to the lyrics and from them I realized that she actually had a really rough life. I don't know the details, but it seems like someone she was close to or even in love with abandoned her, and somehow her death seems linked to this. So maybe her songs and her rock star career are actually her way of trying to avoid being forgotten and abandoned by the world, like she was abandoned by the guy in her song? How many people actually know the story in her lyrics? I wish I could find out more, but the one person who could tell me the whole thing would probably blast me into full ghost-hood just for even asking. Ironic, isn't it? How one of the people she probably despises understands her tragedy more than most."

"Baby-pop…" Ember whispered as Jazz closed the file, trying to fight tears from reaching her eyes. He'd spent she-didn't-even-know how long trying to research her past, to understand her and give her compassion that he didn't think she'd ever receive. And how had she spent her time? Trying to beat down and torture the dip-, no, Danny as hard and as painfully as possible. Guilty didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling now.

"You see?" Jazz said quietly as she closed the computer down. "There was a part of Danny, his best qualities, that stopped him from destroying your most valuable possession, Ember. Even when you made him violently angry with your electric attack, he cared enough about you guys to stop himself from going too far. If that had been someone like Skulker or Spectra in your place, I don't want to think about what Danny would have done to them."

"I still don't understand!" Ember exclaimed, though now her hate for Phantom was rapidly disappearing. "What got Baby-pop so pissed off in the first place? What did he remember from my attack that got him to that point at all?"

"Did Danny say anything to you before your battle started?" Jazz asked. "Something that might clue you in?"

"Yeah, he did!" Youngblood replied. "Something about wanting to try out new training…"

"He's been training under Clockwork," Jazz explained. "The Master of Time's been teaching him new skills, that's how he learned how to duplicate himself. And didn't you say earlier that Dan was trapped in Clockwork's tower?"

Kitty's eyes widened as she realized something. "You don't think…" she gasped, "that Danny ran into his evil self in Clockwork's tower at one point, do you?"

"Only one way to find out!" Ember shouted. "I'm going there and I'm getting to the bottom of this! I owe the dipstick that much!"

"Wait, Ember!" Kitty protested, but her best friend had already turned intangible and floated down towards the Ghost Portal, which was still open from when Jazz had let them in. Amazingly no other ghosts had come through during the whole time.

"All right, Clockwork!" Ember thought as she flew through. "I want answers and you're gonna give them to me!"

_Clockwork's Tower_

"NO!" Dan roared as he slammed his fist on the monitor showing Danny. "HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DESTROY THAT WENCH'S GUITAR! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SUCCUMB TO HIS RAGE! HIS FALL TO DARKNESS SHOULD HAVE STARTED NOW!"

"Did I not tell you that he would resist?" Clockwork asked, his voice laden with amused triumph. "I knew from the beginning that Danny's good side would emerge victorious over his evil, and you have now seen it with your own eyes. Your gambit has failed, Phantom. And though it came close to succeeding, evil has no control over Danny's future, now or ever."

"You meddling, insufferable worm!" Dan growled as he vented his fury at Clockwork with a ghost stinger. The ghost of time merely laughed as the electric attack bounced harmlessly off of him. But before he could taunt Dan further about his failure, one of the screens suddenly started blinking and beeping.

"Well, well!" Clockwork looked at the monitor. "It appears that we have a visitor," he remarked.

Dan glowered and was about to storm off when a female voice suddenly shouted from the tower's entrance.

"Hey, Clockwork!" Ember yelled as she floated into the tower. "Where are you? We need to talk!"

"Miss McLain…" Clockwork addressed her with a neutral tone. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Listen," Ember snapped, "you know why I'm here. So let's cut to the chase. What the hell happened between the dipstick and his evil self here?"

A new voice, dark and demonic, answered instead of Clockwork. "I made him squeal like a pig," Dan Phantom hissed as he entered into Ember's line of vision. "Well, well. It's been a while since I last saw you, Ember McLain. I still remember your screams of agony as I ripped your singing voice right out of your throat. There was no greater music to my ears than the sounds of your suffering!"

"Shut your mouth," Clockwork snarled as he pointed his staff at Dan. The Dark Phantom suddenly found himself lifted into the air and slammed against a large gear. "Keep your manners in check or I will gladly stage a re-enactment of our earlier battle for Miss McLain."

Dan gnashed his teeth in anguished fury but said nothing as he watched Clockwork turn his attention back to Ember. "Now then. As you may have expected, I am already perfectly aware of the battle that took place between Danny and you, Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood. And of course I know full well that Danny temporarily succumbed to his wrath while battling you, and that he recovered quickly enough to prevent himself from destroying your guitar."

"Why don't you tell me something I don't know?" Ember demanded. "The only way that the dipstick would have gone crazy like that is if something happened between him and that abomination over there," she pointed at Dan. "So what the hell was going on?"

"Simple," Clockwork replied in a tone that betrayed nothing. "I allowed Dan to conduct my training for Danny two weeks ago by attacking him with electrical energy in order to improve Danny's physical endurance."

Ember's mouth dropped opened in horror. She hadn't expected something like this from one of the few ghosts that Danny held in such high esteem. Now it all made sense! "Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?" she yelled, her hair bursting into flame and her eyes blazing red. "WHAT KIND OF SICK IDEA IS THAT?"

"Compared to the rest of Danny's abilities, his physical endurance was always weaker, especially against electric energy," Clockwork coolly explained. "In order to train him as efficiently and effectively as possible, I had Danny endure very powerful attacks from a ghost who despised him above all others. If he could withstand that, which, I may add, he did so successfully, he could handle anything. As demonstrated when your own attempts to electrocute him failed."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Ember spat. "The dipstick trusts you to look out for him, and THIS is how you do it? Leaving him at the mercy of his own worst nightmare?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "If you two are enemies, then why do you care? Surely you have not grown to…care about Daniel, have you?"

"NEWS FLASH, OLD TIMER!" Ember screamed. "THE DIPSTICK NEARLY DESTROYED MY GUITAR BECAUSE YOU LET THAT MONSTER BLAST HIM OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

"You didn't answer my question," Clockwork replied coldly. "Do you or do you not care for Danny Phantom, Miss McLain?"

"Maybe I do!" the ghost diva snarled. "Because let me tell you something, Clockwork! No matter how many times the dipstick pisses me off, there is NOTHING I hate more than someone who gains the trust of another person and then smashes it to pieces! That was the kind of person who ruined my life, and that sounds a hell of a lot like what you've done with Danny!"

"Enough!" The Master of Time hissed, anger now emanating in his own voice. "You would dare suggest that I have betrayed Danny's trust? Allow me to remind you, Miss McLain, that it was only because of my intervention that Danny could continue on his path of heroism. If I had listened to those imbeciles known as the Observants, then Daniel Fenton would have long since been destroyed. And if I had stood by and watched, then Dan Phantom would be free to wreak havoc upon both the Human and Ghost worlds for ten years! By interfering with the course of time, I saved not just Danny, but also both worlds. And my training over the past few months has allowed Danny to become far more powerful than he has ever been, as you found out for yourself. If you are not convinced that I have Danny's best interests at heart, Miss McLain, then you can ask him yourself whether my presence in his life has made it better or worse!"

"You can bet I will!" Ember retorted. "And if I find that you've been manipulating Baby-Pop for a fool, Clockwork, I don't care how powerful you are, I'll make you pay!" And with that, the ghost diva flew out of the entrance to Clockwork's tower.

As Clockwork watched Ember disappear into the main part of the Ghost Zone, he dropped his mask of anger and his frown turned into a smile. It was strange, really, how he could act out the role of an antagonist so well when he needed to. After all, Danny himself had believed him to be an enemy until the very end when he had saved the boy's family and given him a second chance. Ember's rage towards him and his actions was unfortunate, yes, but more importantly it was necessary for his plan to succeed. Let Ember think him the villain for now; the truth would come forth soon enough.

"A spark of compassion will soon illuminate and overcome a dark abyss of hate," he thought, his smile growing. "Everything is the way it is supposed to be, and everything is going according to plan."

/

I actually was on a roll yesterday and was able to write up two chapters at once. Unfortunately, with college starting again, updates will most likely be slower from this point forward. I'm glad to see that everyone likes the fic though!


	5. Chapter 5 - A Heart to Heart

Thanks for all the reviews guys! This has got to be the most popular fic I've ever written, and your love is giving me plenty of motivation to keep me going!

Chapter 5 – A Heart to Heart

_Danny's Realm_

"I really messed up, Wulf…" Danny said sadly as he gazed over at his empty island. "You won't believe the damage I almost caused…"

"_What's wrong, friend?"_

"I had a fight with Johnny, Kitty, Youngblood, and Ember about an hour ago…" Danny explained as he absentmindedly pet his Wulf's fur. "They wanted me to open up the Fenton portal for them and I refused…I mean, as the town hero, I can't exactly let ghosts into Amity Park in good conscience, right? And I wanted to try out my new skills from Clockwork, so I played their game. But I took it way too far, Wulf. I almost destroyed a ghost's entire happiness and passion for a long time because of one stupid memory. No matter how many times they ruin my day, none of the ghosts deserve that, not even Skulker."

"From someone who used to date that airheaded hunter, baby-pop, I can safely say that's a matter of opinion," a voice called out from behind him with a humorous tone. Danny didn't even bother to look behind him, already knowing who it was.

"I'm not interested in a round two, Ember, if that's why you're here," he said tiredly. "I'm really not in the mood."

"Nah, that's not why I'm here, Phantom," the ghost rocker replied, her smile fading. Danny couldn't help but look up as he realized that she had called him by his actual name, not baby-pop or dipstick or the insults she usually called him. Wulf, sensing that an important conversation was about to cross between them, quickly flew a few feet away to give them some privacy. "Listen," she continued, her tone now surprisingly serious. "I paid a visit to the Old Timer's tower just now…"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Old Timer?"

"Clockwork," she clarified.

"You call Clockwork OLD TIMER?" he asked incredulously. "Wow, that's the first time I've heard that one."

Ember smacked Danny's head lightly with her gloved hand. "Will ya stop interrupting, dipstick? Anyway, when I went to the Old Timer's tower, he told me that he let that monstrosity," her eyes flashed red with anger, "Dan Phantom, attack you for _physical endurance training_. Don't tell me he was actually telling the truth!"

Danny sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it, he was. Clockwork's been a great teacher and mentor when it comes to ghost powers, but he can also be a really tough one sometimes. He knows that I've never been a huge fan of electricity, and since he wanted me to train hard and fast he had Dan take care of that part."

"A great teacher and mentor?" Ember repeated angrily. "I can't believe you're defending him, Baby-pop! Clockwork let your worst enemy torture you over and over again to the point that just the memory of it sent you violently insane! What kind of mentor does that?"

"Look, Ember," Danny cut her off firmly, "I can tell that you don't trust Clockwork after hearing about that. But you have to understand that he's done more to help me with my life than even my own friends and family! When I first met him, he pretended to be an enemy, and I bet he put up that act in front of you too. He outright swung at me with a scythe and chased me into the ruined future that you heard about to show me exactly what would happen if I turned evil and cheated on the CATs. You've heard about Dan from rumors about the zone, and whatever horror stories you've heard couldn't possibly match what I saw with my own eyes. But it goes deeper than that. Because there's one thing that nobody outside of Tucker, Sam, and my family knows."

"What's that?" the diva asked, both curious to discover the answer and at same time afraid of what she would learn.

Danny looked the ghost rocker straight in the eye. "That I failed," he told her with brutal honestly. "I failed to stop Dan from exploding the Nasty Burger with everyone I cared about tied to a fiery death. Did I catch him in the Thermos? Yes. I did. But it doesn't change the fact that I failed to get back to the Nasty Burger in time, I failed to rescue my family and friends like the hero always does in the comic books, and because of that failure I had to watch as that boiler exploded and nearly destroyed the people that made my life worth living."

For the first time in several years, Ember was completely speechless. Jazz's description alone would have been enough to give her nightmares, and Danny had been living with this on top of everything else? It was a miracle he hadn't snapped long before today, and even when he had he'd still managed to pull himself together in time.

"The one reason why Dan's plan failed? Clockwork. He saved my friends and family before it was too late, and he reset time to give me the second chance that I needed to keep myself on the right path. If anything I owe him my life, and instead of expecting me to do favors for him he agreed to train me with my ghost powers AND he gave me this massive island as my ghost lair. So I hope you can understand why I'll continue to put my full and complete trust in him, even if you don't," he finished fervently. "Whatever reasons he had for letting Dan zap me, I'm sure they were good ones."

Ember shook her head. "Any guy who'd be willing to do that much for you without needing anything in return has definitely got your back, baby pop. I only wish I had someone like that looking out for me when I was alive," she added the second sentence with a whisper. It had meant to be her own private thought, but unfortunately for her Danny's keen hearing picked up what she'd said.

"I'm sure there was somebody…" he tried lamely to comfort her, but Ember just laughed with zero humor.

"Wrong, baby pop. Your parents and friends might be complete weirdos, but they're there for you every step of the way. Me? I had nothin'. My parents didn't give a crap about me and I had pretty much no friends in school. Your file hit the nail right on the head," she finished bitterly.

Danny only barely managed to suppress his gasp of shock. "You…you know about the Ghost Database?"

Ember smirked. "You can't keep secrets from me forever, dipstick. But yeah, Jazz showed it to us. Johnny had this bright idea that maybe she could tell us why you went crazy mode, and she kinda showed us the files too. Gotta say," she added jokingly, "if you put that much work into school as you did on my file you'd be top of the class."

The halfa couldn't help but laugh at that. "Har har har, well, dealing with ghosts kind of gets in the way of education, most of which I bet will be completely useless in the future. But seriously," his smile faded. "Do you want me to know more about your former life? If you don't, that's fine. I'll just write down that you didn't want to share, close the file, the end, moving on."

The ghost rocker silently weighed the offer in her mind. On the one hand, up until recently the two of them had still been enemies. Heck, their conflict just an hour ago had probably been their worst and most violent yet. But still…that really hadn't been either of their faults, at least not completely. And her gut instincts told her that if anybody would care about her troubled past, it would be the dipstick, despite everything that had happened between them. Even so…she wasn't sure she could trust him…not yet. Not unless they were able to somehow put their enemy relationship behind them and start over first.

"Something on your mind, Ember?" Danny's voice broke into her thoughts.

Ember sighed. "I don't know if I still wanna be enemies, baby pop. I used to hate you a lot, yeah, but now…well…I'm not so sure anymore."

The halfa shrugged. "I definitely don't have a problem having a friend instead an enemy, but if you don't mind me asking, what changed your mind?"

"Back then when we first met, baby pop," the ghost diva explained, "all I saw was this meddling goodie two-shoe with an irritating hero complex who didn't know how to stay out of other people's business. You screwed up my plan to take over the world and your stupid techno geek friend brought my ratings down into a rut that took me months to recover from. I tried to get payback back when I was working with Youngblood, but then you sent that plan straight to hell too! I don't think I hated another ghost or human as much as I hated you back then, baby pop."

"Gee, thanks," Danny muttered wryly.

"I ain't finished yet, Phantom," Ember interrupted. "That was before you actually went up and fought freaking Pariah Dark by yourself when all the other ghosts and humans were pissing themselves, doing what nobody else could when the chips fell down…that was the first time I actually saw you as a hero, baby pop, albeit one that I was still pissed off at. And then you had to deal with something even worse than the Ghost King with no one but Clockwork helping you. We even tried to kill you for something that wasn't yet your fault instead of helping you like we did with Pariah, and you still managed to save the day without breaking!"

"I almost did, and I would have if it hadn't been for Clockwork," Danny said quietly, but Ember shook her head and kept going.

"Still doesn't change the fact you won in the end even with all that crap weighing you down. A lot of us ghosts have had it bad in some way, baby pop, me probably more than most, but now I see that you have way more to deal with than most of the ghosts in the GZ. And something tells me a lot of it's because we keep screwing around Amity. I can't help but wonder why you haven't decided to quit playing nice with that stupid thermos of yours and just destroy us outright," she finished with a bitter laugh. "I mean, if you got rid of us, no more ghosts, no more problems!"

Now it was Danny's turn to look horrified. "Are you kidding me?" he almost shouted. "You actually think you've all made me angry enough to wipe you out of existence permanently? No! I'm a hero, not a murderer! Why do you think I use the thermos and not the deadlier weapons?"

"So you…don't…hate us?" Ember asked skeptically. "Even after all the crap we've pulled on you and your town?"

"Ghosts are people too, Ember," the halfa answered firmly. "Clockwork, Dora, Pandora, Frostbite…they were the first to show me that not every ghost is an evil jerk trying to make life hell for the living. And thanks to the Fenton Database and a little thinking, I can tell that even some of the ghosts I've fought in the past are just people with their own feelings and problems. And before you ask, yes, that includes you."

"I didn't know I had such a special place in that Database of yours, Phantom," Ember teased. Inwardly though, she had to admit she was impressed by how mature the dipstick had become. Already her doubts about being friends with him instead of enemies were starting to fade out.

"There's only one ghost I'd ever consider destroying, Ember. And even at your very worst, you don't come remotely close to his level of evil. Whatever your reasons for trying to take over the world," Danny said, unable to hide a smirk, "I'm going to assume it's not because you're some insane psychopathic megalomaniac like Dan was."

"In that case, baby pop…" the rock star hesitated for just a second before pressing on. "Do you want to maybe…not be enemies anymore? I mean, I know we're not going to be best buds right away or anything cliché like that, but judging by our conversation you actually seem like a pretty decent guy, Danny."

Danny smiled and held out a hand. "I don't have a problem with that. To new friends?" he suggested.

"To new friends," Ember agreed before shaking it. For a few seconds, neither of them said a word.

"So anyway, dipstick!" the rock star's original carefree attitude was already coming back in full force with their enmity having been finally laid to rest. "Now that we're not gonna be tearing at each other's throats anymore, lemme ask you something. Whatcha doin' hanging around this empty chunk of rock?"

"Oh, that?" the Phantom hero grinned. "Clockwork gave me that as my new territory, hot stuff. I bet it's a lot bigger than those doors that you and the other losers call your lairs."

"Well, aren't you the high and mighty one, baby pop!" Ember retorted. "But you know what would actually impress me? If you had a plan!"

Danny grinned. "You're gonna love what I have in mind, Ember. You mentioned earlier you were bored out of your afterlife? If all goes as planned, that won't ever be a problem again! Wulf, the blueprints please!"

Wulf opened a portal with his claw, reached into it, and took out what looked like a large paper with writing and diagrams on it. Danny took it, thanked him, and opened it up to show Ember. "I've divided this island into three sections," he declared. "The left section will be a giant arena, Coliseum style! Any ghosts feel like duking it out, they can do it as much as they want here without breaking any of Walker's rules, obviously as long as they don't kill or seriously injure each other or something like that."

"So I can beat you up as many times as I want without getting any flak for it from Clockwork or any of those other ghost friends you just mentioned?" Ember taunted.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "I thought we just had an agreement not to fight anymore," he commented dryly. His new friend only laughed. "Anyway, still working out the details on that one, but I'm just focusing on making the thing itself for now." He pointed to the middle section. "This middle section here's gonna be a park. Flowers, grass, some woods, stone pathways with a couple of benches, maybe a fountain in the middle. Just a place for ghosts to relax and chill."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "So you're actually sharing your place with everyone else? Dang, dipstick, you really are too much of a hero for your own good!"

"If you don't like it, I can just make a mansion for myself instead," Danny replied a little too casually.

"You mean like that Plasmius jerk my ex-boyfriend used to work for? No thanks," she scoffed. "Stick with the park idea, baby pop, it suits you better."

Danny rolled his eyes as he pointed to the last section. "This last part's going to be a bar. You know, drinks, food, music, a dance floor, whatever. For ghosts who want to enjoy themselves in a wilder way without going ballistic on each other in the arena. The front part will be the bar itself, the back part will be several large rooms that I'll think of plans for later."

"Not a bad idea, Phantom," Ember smirked. "I know quite a few ghosts who'd love having a pub around. Will give us a different place to let loose in besides Amity."

"Yeah, and it'll give ME a break from having to suck you all in a certain thermos every single day," Danny deadpanned.

"One suggestion though," the diva pointed at the sections representing the park and the bar. "You might wanna switch those two around. You wanted peace and quiet to be the name of the game in the park, right? Well, between that bar and that arena, good luck finding it, baby pop."

"Huh. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Cause you're a dipstick."

"Hey!" Danny protested before the two of them burst out into laughter. "Oh, man…" he thought. "I can't believe we're getting along like this, especially after our crazy fight earlier. I was right all along, Ember really isn't so bad once you get to know her. And who knows? maybe some of my other enemies aren't either."

_Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Ghost Zone_

"Hurry, guys!" Kitty called after Johnny and Youngblood as they floated towards Clockwork's domain. Jazz herself had "borrowed" a newly created and upgraded version of the Specter Speeder from her parent's lab and was following closely behind them. Though her parents and Danny had worked together to incorporate a navigation system inside the Speeder, she still didn't want to lose sight of the three ghosts as they sped towards Clockwork's tower. "Ember might be in trouble!"

"Clockwork won't let anything happen to her, right?" Jazz asked. "Didn't you say earlier that he crushed Dan in a fight?"

"What if Clockwork isn't there and Dan IS?" Johnny countered.

"Good point," Danny's sister conceded. "Let's move!"

She looked back in front of her and saw the Master of Time's tower looming ahead. The three young ghosts zoomed in through the entrance, while Jazz parked the Specter Speeder at the base of the tower and floated in behind them more slowly in a suit designed for travel in the Ghost Zone.

"I must say," Clockwork greeted them dryly, "I have had more visitors today then I had in all of last year, not counting the Observants."

"Did Ember come by here?" Kitty breathlessly asked the Time Master. "Did Dan do anything to her? And where is he anyway?"

"Ember did in fact arrive here recently, but she has since departed towards Phantom's realm," Clockwork answered, not revealing the full extent of their conversation from her friends. "As for the Dark Phantom, I silenced him long before he could do so much as lay a finger on your friend. I also sent him out on an errand to deliver something to King Frostbite of the Far Frozen, since I presume you did not wish to deal with him."

"You let him go free!" Jazz exclaimed horrified. "Are you insane? He could, I don't know, disguise himself as Danny and wreak havoc! He did it to me…" she finished quietly.

Clockwork nodded. "I understand your concern, but that is a danger that the ghost elders are well aware of, and not one you need to be worried about. You see, even though Dan Phantom may have originated partially from Danny himself, he bears a unique ecto-signature that is distinct from your brother's. There is also the fact that Dan cannot disguise himself in Danny's ghost form, only in his human form, which Danny is never seen in while he travels through the Ghost Zone. Frostbite knows both of these things, and rest assured that he has appropriate precautions in place to prevent a disaster from befalling his people. Not to mention," the four of them could have sworn that a glint of cruel satisfaction flashed in Clockwork's eyes for the briefest of moments, "that his entire existence is tied to my will, and if he does not do exactly as I desire I can destroy his existence permanently with a snap of my fingers."

"Oh, thank God!" Jazz exclaimed in immense relief. "I wouldn't want him to trick anyone like he did me!"

"The four of you have nothing to fear, either for Ember or because of Dan Phantom," Clockwork finished with a gentle smile. "Everything is as it should be."

"All…all right, Clockwork," Kitty hesitantly nodded. "Thanks, and sorry for bothering you."

"No need," the Ghost of Time brushed aside her apology. "However," he warned, "I suggest that you make haste in your departure. Dan will return soon, and while he may not be able to harm you, you can trust that any meeting with him will not be a pleasant one."

Johnny shuddered. "Can't argue with that one, man. I don't exactly want to meet the evil version of the punk who smashed my legs to pieces with my own bike, even if it's in a future that doesn't exist anymore. Let's hit the road, guys."

"Ahem," Clockwork interrupted them with a hand. "If you wish to locate Danny and Ember, I would suggest following the direction that Danny in fled after your battle. His ghost realm is a large, empty island. It will be hard to miss."

"Got it!" Youngblood piped up cheerfully. "Thanks, Clockwork!"

The three ghosts and Jazz left the way they came; none of them would registering what Clockwork had actually said until much later. The Master of Time, in the meantime, had turned his attention to one of the screens. The monitor displayed Ember and Danny floating high above his realm, laughing.

Clockwork's smile grew at the sight. "Yes," he thought contentedly, "everything is indeed exactly as it should be."

/

So how many of you guys thought this would be the love confession chapter? Yeah, no, I'm realistic enough to realize that two enemies aren't going to be boyfriend and girlfriend right out of the blue. But with this chapter, Ember and Danny have finally made their peace and become friends instead of foes! And now you know what Danny's plans are for his realm! Some of them, anyway…

Hope you guys enjoyed! The chapters will be of a lighter and softer tone after this one.


	6. Chapter 6 - How to Build a Ghost Realm

Not much for me to say here, except thanks for all the reviews! And now, onward!

Oh, and one thing. Dani WILL be appearing in the story. Just not in this chapter.

Chapter 6 – How to Build a Ghost Realm

"So are you getting started today, Danny?" Ember asked as she absentmindedly strung her guitar.

Danny shook his head. "Much as I'd love to, Ember, I'm beat. I don't know how much energy I'll need to start working on this. Actually, heck, I don't even know how to MAKE a ghost realm!"

"Much as I'd love to help ya, dipstick, this island is a lot bigger than anything I have," Ember drawled. She suddenly looked up back in the direction where they had came. "Do you hear something?"

Danny followed her gaze. Sure enough, he could see the faint outlines of three ghosts and…was that the Specter Speeder? What was that doing here?

"Judging by that bike that's probably Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood," Danny deduced. "And the person driving the Specter Speeder has to be Jazz. Sam and Tucker are out of town and won't be back til tomorrow and my parents are out for the night." He smirked. "I bet they're thinking we're going to be at each other's throats again."

Ember grinned. "If that's true, baby pop, they're in for a surprise."

The four ghosts, in the meanwhile, were heading closer to the area that Clockwork had directed them to. "I can't believe that Phantom has his own island!" Youngblood exclaimed. "He's not even full ghost!"

"Well, little man, maybe if you fight Pariah Dark, Dan Phantom, and rally everyone in both the Earth and GZ to save the earth from another Disasteroid, they'll give you one too." Johnny retorted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Youngblood rolled his eyes and muttered as they approached.

Jazz was the first to call out to them through the Specter Speeder. "Danny!" she exclaimed, clearly relieved that he was all right and not in any danger. "Are you okay?"

"Ember!" Kitty screeched as she floated over and hugged her best friend. "We were so worried about you! Never run out like that again, girl, do you hear me?"

"Whoa, Kitty, hold up! I'm fine!" Ember replied with a flustered laugh as she broke the embrace. "Me and the baby pop have just been talking about some stuff is all. What, a girl can't talk with a friend?"

The three ghosts and Jazz looked at each other in blank shock, jaws dropping.

"Did you just use the words 'baby pop' and 'friend' together without the word 'not' in between them?" Jazz asked, not believing her ears.

"Yeah? There a problem with that?"

Johnny looked over at Jazz. "You're the one with geeks for parents. Did we just enter a parallel universe or something?"

Jazz shook her head. "My dad sent the house into a parallel dimension once. I'm preeeeeeetty sure that hasn't happened to us."

Danny rolled his eyes. "If you're done trying to wrap your minds over the _scientific impossibility_ that Ember and I are actually getting along now," he dryly interrupted, "I'm packing it in for the night. I'm tired and if I'm going to start building up my realm soon I need as much energy as I can get."

The ghost diva smiled at him. "Mind if I come by and watch you get to work, baby pop?" she asked. "Beats doing anything around here now that your parents know how to keep that portal of yours closed."

Danny shrugged. "Sure, you can come by whenever I'm around. Same goes for you guys," he gestured towards the others. "Until then, see ya guys later, cuz I'm outta here. C'mon, Jazz."

Before any of them could say anything more, the halfa had already begun flying away towards the Fenton portal, Jazz following close behind. She was NOT letting him out of her sight after what had just happened.

Back at Danny's island, the four of them did nothing but stare after them for several seconds.

"So…" Johnny finally broke the silence. "You and Phantom are actually friends now? Gotta say, that was fast."

"No kidding," Youngblood agreed. "Especially after he nearly smashed your guitar to pieces, Em. What changed?"

Ember shrugged. "The dipstick and I just had a little heart to heart is all. He's really not that bad of a guy when he's not trying to shove us in that stupid thermos of his. Heck, he's sharing that big island over there with the entire Ghost Zone just so we don't get bored enough to attack his town all the time!"

"REALLY?" Kitty gasped. "That is so cool! What's he planning to do?"

Ember grinned. "I'll tell you on the way back, Kitty. Gotta tell ya, when it comes to designing ghost realms, baby pop thinks big."

_Fenton Works_

"So tell me, Danny," Jazz confronted her little brother as she parked the Specter Speeder in its location in the garage. "How'd you suddenly go from being enemies with Ember to being friends?"

"Turns out she was actually worried about me when she learned that my little anger moment was because Clockwork told Dan to zap me with a ghost stinger as part of my training," Danny explained, only for Jazz to suddenly interrupt him.

"Clockwork told Dan to do WHAT?" she exploded furiously. "Danny, how could you let him do that to you?"

"Jazz…" Danny said intently. "I said this to Ember and I'll say it to you. I trust Clockwork completely. You of all people should understand why. Whatever his reasons, I'm sure they were good ones."

Jazz sighed. "I know, little brother, but still, be careful. I'm pretty Dan tried to hurt you in other ways since he can't attack you directly because of Clockwork, and he almost succeeded today. You can't let him affect you like that."

"I know, Jazz," Danny replied seriously as he changed back into human Danny Fenton. "Anyway, Ember then came to check if I was all right, believe it or not. I told her more about Dan, and then we talked for a while about some stuff. Then we decided to be friends instead of enemies, and here we are!"

"Danny…do you think…do you think that Ember was lying to you?" Jazz asked hesistantly. "Maybe she's just pretending to be your friend just so that she can get a free shot at taking over Amity or the world again."

Danny shook his head. "I won't pretend it didn't cross my mind, but I don't think so, Jazz. She seemed completely honest earlier. And based on her lyrics, it sounds like that the one person who ruined her life betrayed her trust at some point. I highly doubt Ember would stoop that low."

He suddenly smirked. "Besides, Clockwork's been training me in mental endurance too. Ember tried to hypnotize me with her guitar while we were fighting and I didn't even notice. Even if her fans are cheering her name, hair blazing and all, if she tries anything, I don't care, it doesn't work on me. And then I'll stuff her into the thermos like I stuff in every ghost who tries to mess around with my town."

Jazz laughed. "I'm sure you will, Danny," she agreed as the two of them walked up to their bedrooms. As she was about to call it in for the night, she noticed Danny suddenly walking up towards the Emergency Ops Center. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to just make a couple of updates on the Database," he promised. "Be right down!" He quickly raced to the computer and logged onto the Database, with all of the familiar ghosts that he had encountered.

Within each ghost's file was a classification system that identified Danny's relationship with a ghost. There were three options: friend (in blue letters), neutral (yellow letters), and enemy (red letters). Most of the ghosts were predictably labeled under "enemy"; however, there were a couple of ghosts like Klemper, Sidney Poindexter, and the Observants who were labeled as "neutral" since they really weren't malicious or bent on causing harm for humans, even if they had caused trouble for Danny in the past. Of course, Clockwork, Frostbite, Wulf, Pandora, Dora, Cujo, and Dani were obviously the ones in the "friends" category.

"I can't believe I'm finally changing some of these," Danny thought as he opened up Walker's file. He wasn't optimistic enough to actually believe that they were on decidedly good terms, but the fact that they got along decently now was enough for him to switch Walker from "enemy" to "neutral."

"All right, then!" Danny thought as he opened up Johnny's, Kitty's, and Youngblood's files. He'd had them labeled as enemies, but now that he thought about it that was honestly a bit too harsh. Johnny and Kitty really didn't do anything to harm humans that much, and Youngblood was just a kid. Sure, the ghost had fought him before in his pirate and cowboy costumes, but Danny was pretty sure that was more out of a desire to have fun rather than any legitimate malice. Fun that hopefully the kid ghost would have his fill of once he finished making his realm. Clicking on his mouse, Danny shifted the three of them to "neutral." Hopefully they would actually be friends with him one day, but for now he'd be cautious.

There was only one ghost left for him to change, and that was Ember. Danny smiled as he remembered their conversation. This time, he'd need to do a bit more updating than just her classification. He opened up the description and began typing after a bit of thought.

"_Update: It seems I was on the right track with my initial description. Ember admitted that she had a very rough life, without any family or friends to support her. She still won't tell me the full details for now, but may one day after she trusts me more. All the same, it's pretty clear now that her actions and desires to take over the world with her music in the past are more out of bitterness and loneliness rather than evil."_

Danny saved the update and opened up her classification. The familiar red letters of "enemy" flashed before his eyes. Ember had always been one of his more formidable opponents, and he'd never thought one day that'd change. Thinking back to the promise they'd made, he changed Ember's classification from "enemy" to "friend," the bright blue letters replacing the red.

"I really hope I can trust you, Ember," he thought as he saved the database and closed it down.

_The Next Morning_

"Good morning, Fenton family!" Jack declared, his booming voice waking up Jazz and Danny instantly.

"Morning!" Danny shouted back. "Dad, get mom and meet me down in the lab. I have something I want to test out!"

"You mean an experiment? Sure thing, son!" Jack replied as he went to get his wife. "Maddie?"

Meanwhile, Danny was already busying himself with implementing his idea. He immediately leaped off the bed, went into his drawers to grab some clothes, and phased through the floor. Ever since Danny's parents had discovered his secret, the first thing they had done was a complete dismantling and rebuilding of the anti-ghost security system in the house. These weapons, which had originally been designed to cause severe pain and even outright destruction to invading ghosts, had been toned down significantly to the point that they would only cause minor to moderate injury that a ghost could recover from without much difficulty. While they still technically had the potential to be deadly, it would now take prolonged and repeated attacks from these weapons to cause the same level of damage that they had used to do in one or two blasts. Of course, all of the defenses had been given an important upgrade that would ignore Danny's ecto-signature and that of any ghosts listed as a friend in the Ghost Database, allowing Danny to freely "go ghost" in the house without risk of being harmed.

When Danny and Jazz made their way down to the lab, they found that Jack and Maddie were already waiting for them. "What are you doing with that pile of clothes, Danny?" Maddie asked curiously.

Her son smiled sheepishly. "Eh…I'm doing a little science experiment of my own. You know how I change into a different kind of Hazmat suit when I go ghost?"

Everyone nodded. "Well…to be honest I'm kind of tired of wearing the same thing every time. So I decided I'm going to take some of the clothes I'm comfortable wearing and give them a nice zap with the Fenton Ecto-Amplifier Ray to 'ghost' them, if you get what I'm saying."

"Oh no you don't, Danny!" his mom scolded. "I don't have a problem with that idea by itself, but you are NOT ecto-zapping the clothes that I bought for you unless I say so!"

"Fiiiiiiiiine…" Danny rolled his eyes as Maddie began filtering out the clothes that she wanted kept normal. Still, when she was done, Danny had a decent selection of clothes left that Maddie had given the okay for. The combo consisted of a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt with a black DP logo on it (courtesy of a souvenir shop that was selling Danny Phantom gear), and a black leather jacket. "Ready?" he asked, once Jack had trained the Ecto-Amplifier Ray on them.

"Three…two…one…BANZAI!" Jack bellowed excitedly as he blasted the set of clothes with the device. All of them averted their eyes to avoid the glare of the ecto ray until about ten seconds later when it died down. Jazz was the first to look back at the clothes Danny had laid out.

"Oh my God, Danny…" she gasped. "It worked!"

Danny looked where she was pointing at. All of his clothes were now glowing with the familiar green aura that ghosts gave off. And while the pair of jeans had remained the same color, the white shirt had turned black while the logo and the leather jacket had turned white. He grinned, elated at the success.

"Perfect!" he purred as he grabbed onto the clothes. "Be right back!" He turned intangible and zoomed out of the lab. A few seconds later, he returned back down wearing his new clothes.

Maddie laughed. "Oh my goodness, Danny!"

Jack grinned. "You look like a real ladies' man in that outfit, Danny, just like your old man!" He looked at Maddie. "Well, I would have been except only one of 'em caught my eye!"

"Oh, Jack!" the two of them kissed as their children rolled their eyes.

Danny shifted back into his human form, and as he did so the clothes returned to their normal look. "Heh, guess the color changes depending on whether I'm going human or ghost. Cool!" Suddenly, he realized something. "Aw, crap! Look at the time! I gotta head over to Clockwork's tower!"

"All right!" Jack cheerfully waved towards the portal. "Do whatever you gotta do, Danny!"

"Be back by lunch!" Maddie called after Danny as he turned into a ghost and flew into the Ghost Zone.

_Ghost Zone_

"Wonder what Clockwork's gonna teach me today?" Danny thought as he raced through the zone. As he flew on, he happened to pass by Johnny 13, who apparently was taking his bike out for a leisure ride.

"Hey Johnny!" Danny called out as he passed by. The biker looked up and instantly noticed something a bit off about Phantom.

"Whoa, little man, hold up!" Johnny called after him. Danny stopped for just a second and turned his head back towards him. "Dunno where you got those clothes from, Phantom, but I'm definitely diggin' that new look!" Johnny's shadow manifested behind its master and gave Danny a thumbs up. "Way cooler than that stupid Hazmat suit you've always got on!"

"Glad you like it!" Danny shouted back. "Figured I needed to change things up a bit! Anyway, can't talk now, gotta meet up with Clockwork, see ya around!"

He quickly fled towards the familiar Time Master's realm without encountering any other ghosts, the one realm in the Ghost Zone he had probably visited more than any other.

"Ah, Daniel!" Clockwork greeted him as he flew in. "Are you ready for today's training?"

"Yep!" he cheerfully replied. "So, what are you going to be teaching me today, Clockwork?" He looked around the tower. "And, uh, what happened to Dan?"

"To answer your second question first, he is in his room, sulking, and very likely attempting to vandalize some of my possessions." Clockwork smirked. "Apparently, he did not take the fact that you were able to overcome your anger yesterday very well."

Danny pictured in his mind the image of Dan Phantom throwing a temper tantrum, something that was both highly disturbing and utterly hilarious at the same time. "Wow. You took Dan's ability to be a threat and pretty much beat it to death, slammed it into the locker, flushed it down the toilet, blasted it with Skulker's rockets, and threw in a Ghostly Wail just for good measure," he grinned. "Talk about checkmate."

"If you wish to discuss our victory over Dan in terms of a chess match, Daniel, then it was one in which only a few key pieces remained on our side by its end," Clockwork replied, his smile disappearing. "The vast majority of that battle was fought not by me, but by you. It was a conflict over which you narrowly claimed victory instead of him. _And even now, completely bound to my wrath and mercy, he has still managed to procure triumphs of his own,_" Clockwork added in his own mind. _"Small, subtle and insignificant in the long run, but triumphs nonetheless."_

"My own dominance over the Dark Phantom was merely the finishing move, the toppling of the black king. But enough about him," the Master of Time suddenly brushed the topic aside. "You asked me what I was going to teach you. The thing is, my student, I was just about to ask you that very question. We will be doing something a little different today. Instead of me making the decision, you will be the one who chooses how you wish your training to go. So tell me, Danny, what have you set your sights on?"

Danny thought for a moment. The possibilities really were endless. There were so many things a powerful ghost elder like Clockwork could show him, but if he knew Clockwork there was a specific answer that the Master of Time wanted to hear. A combat-related ghost power? That was his first guess, but his instincts told him that wasn't right; Clockwork wouldn't be acting in such a roundabout way if something that obvious was what he was looking for. After a few seconds, he had the answer.

"I want you to teach me how to build up my ghost realm!" Danny declared. Clockwork gave him a barely perceptible nod of approval and Danny inwardly pumped his fist in satisfaction. _"Yes!"_

"An excellent suggestion," Clockwork agreed as though he hadn't yet acknowledged Danny's answer, "and one that I will gladly teach you. In order to do that, however, we will need to travel over to your domain first. Let us not waste any more time."

_A Few Minutes Later, Danny's Realm_

"Now that we are here, allow me to show you how you can build up your ghost realm into whatever you see fit," Clockwork announced as he and Danny gazed over the empty land. "As you know, everything in the Ghost Zone is made entirely of ectoplasm, from the ghosts themselves to the various lairs that they inhabit. Since this is your territory, Daniel, everything in this area is yours, including the ectoplasm that gives form to it. The key to creating your realm, Daniel, is to manipulate the ectoplasm and molding it for your purposes."

"You mean, kinda like how I use ectoplasm for my energy attacks?" Danny asked.

Clockwork nodded. "The concept is similar, but since this ectoplasm is more physical in nature it will be harder and require both more energy and more concentration to manipulate in the same way. It took Skulker several years to create the island you are familiar with, for example."

Danny smirked. "He's a pipsqueak, whattaya expect?"

"He created that island using the full power of his armor."

Danny's smug expression deflated instantly. "Oh."

"When you are developing your realm, you must concentrate on the specific object or construct that you wish to create in your realm, Daniel," Clockwork instructed. "Focus your mind and envision that construct, and channel your power. If you have done so properly, then it will be formed. Be warned, however, that larger constructs will require more time, more energy, and have larger room for error."

"Would closing my eyes help?" his charge asked.

"Yes and no," Clockwork answered. "While it may help you focus, keep in mind that there is a greater chance of raising the construct improperly since you are not seeing it directly."

"Got it," Danny nodded.

"I would advise that you start with something simple so that you can understand how the process works without overexerting yourself. You mentioned a park in your plans, perhaps a tree would be a good starting point?"

"I've got a better idea," Danny replied. He floated downward towards the very center of the island and did exactly as Clockwork told him. He closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds, creating the image of a majestic golden fountain in his mind and willing it to rise from the ground. As he did so, he could feel the energy leaving his body and funneling out of him, similar to a ghost attack and yet different at the same time. Danny fueled more energy into the creation of his fountain until his instincts told him to stop. Excitedly, he opened his eyes to see the results of his work.

"Aww, man!"

He'd gotten the details of the fountain down perfectly, but it was absolutely tiny in size, barely reaching up to his stomach in height. The jets of water flowing out if it were similarly shrunken, collecting in the miniature basin at the bottom. Clockwork floated down next to him and inspected it.

"For a first attempt, this was well done," he finally delivered his verdict. "However, you now see the drawbacks of closing your eyes when attempting this. You were so focused on the fountain itself that you failed to account for its size during its actual creation, something that would be easier to resolve if you were envisioning the fountain directly."

"And I'm guessing I probably didn't add enough ectoplasm and one touch will dissolve it," Danny deadpanned. "My instincts told me when to stop."

Clockwork smiled. "Though there were problems with your attempt to create your fountain, that was actually not one of them. As you have figured out on your own, you will know instinctively when to finish channeling the ectoplasm."

"And how do I destroy things whenever I mess up? You know, to start over?" Danny asked. "Besides the usual throwing ecto blasts at it."

"Each creation in your realm will have a given time period during which you can dissolve it to nothingness with a ghost ray," the Master of Time explained. "This ability is unique to the one who did the creating, since otherwise ghosts could easily dismantle each other's' realms whenever an enemy decided to create something new. Any other ghosts who attempt to do so will only have the normal effect. Once this period of time has passed, the ectoplasm in the creation will have solidified, so to speak, and you will not be able to destroy it so easily anymore. This time period depends on the creation itself, how large it is, etc."

Danny blasted the mini fountain he had created with his ghost ray, and instantly it dissolved into ectoplasm that melted into the atmosphere of the zone. "Neat!" he declared.

"Those are the basics behind the creation of your ghost realm, Daniel," Clockwork concluded. "Unfortunately, since this is your realm and not mine, I am unable to create objects in your domain for you. So instead, I will evaluate your progress from afar as you attempt to craft your constructs in your realm. We will do this until your 'lunch time' or until you run out of energy. Are you prepared?"

Danny was about to answer in the affirmative, but suddenly a thought snuck its way into his mind. "Say, Clockwork? If an outside source amplified my energy, would that help me in making those constructs?"

"Any energy amplification will also enhance your ability to build up your realm, yes," Clockwork replied with a knowing smile.

"Such as, oh I don't know, my new Ecto-Skeleton?"

Clockwork's smile only widened in response.

This time, Danny didn't even bother trying to stop himself from fist-pumping in victory. "Oh yeah," he thought, "this is gonna be sweeeeeeeeeeeet."

/

So there's my take on how ghosts build up their lairs. Hope you guys enjoyed!

I might include a brief look into the musings of Dan Phantom next chapter, and what Clockwork meant when he said that he gained some subtle victories. He may have ultimately lost the war, but that doesn't mean he didn't get something out of it.

I figured Danny would get tired of wearing the same old Hazmat suit constantly in ghost form, so that's why he ecto-zapped some of his "cooler" clothes. It was also an opportunity for me to show some Fenton family bonding now that Danny's secret is outta the way.

Next chapter will feature Sam and Tucker's return! Keep in mind that Danny and Sam are back to being best friends and ghost fighting partners, since they decided it was a better relationship for them than love interests in this fic-verse.

Keep those reviews coming, you know I love them! :D


	7. Chapter 7 - The Return of Old Friends

Chapter 7 – The Return of Old Friends

_Ghost Zone, 11:45 AM_

Two hours of practicing later, Danny felt his endurance finally wear out and he decided to call it quits. Under Clockwork's supervision, he had turned his attention to the right section of his island and created quite a few trees and park benches placed randomly throughout the area, some of which he destroyed whenever he felt he'd messed up. By the end of the training session he had managed to consistently create medium sized constructs almost perfectly, though the halfa disintegrated them anyway since he wanted to a fresh start when he finally got started for real.

"You've made remarkable progress, Danny, in a relatively short span of time," Clockwork complimented him as he finished. "However, keep in mind that for the buildings you plan on creating, the arena and the bar, you will very likely need the power of your Ecto-Skeleton in order to craft them in a timely and efficient manner. That will be all for today, young one."

"Thanks, Clockwork!" Danny waved at his master. "I'll see you later, then?"

"All in good time," the Master of Time replied as he teleported away. Danny grinned and flew back towards the location of the Fenton Portal, having memorized its location by heart by now. He flew through the open portal and into his parents' Ghost lab, changing into his human form as he did so.

"Hey there, son!" Jack greeted him as he saw Danny fly in. "Ready for some food?"

"You bet!" he replied as he followed his dad up the stairs. "Gotta tell ya, Dad, making things in a ghost realm takes a lot of energy outta ya!"

"Those Ecto-Booster packets we made with a sample of your core ectoplasm are still waiting in the Fenton Ghost Freezer!" Jack offered. "If you need one, feel free!"

Danny shook his head. "Thanks, Dad, but I'll be fine."

Jack suddenly grinned. "Oh, and you have some surprise guests waitin' for ya, my boy!" The two of them turned around a corner…and Danny's jaw dropped to the floor in shock.

"Tucker? Sam?"

"Danny!" Both of his friends exclaimed as they got up from their seats. The three of them exchanged hugs and high-fives as they started chatting excitedly.

"How've you been, man?" Tucker asked with a grin. "Being the youngest mayor of Amity Park is busy as heck…but totally worth it!"

Sam was similarly in an excited mood. "Thanks for overshadowing my parents to get them to take me to the Goth Convention in Chicago, Danny! I couldn't have gotten there without you! And I met this really cool guy over there; we exchanged phone numbers and everything!"

"No worries, no worries," Danny brushed aside her thanks. "Glad I could help out!"

"I ordered some takeout from the Asian restaurant in downtown Amity!" Maddie declared happily as she walked in the kitchen with Jazz following close behind her, both of them carrying bags with cartons of Lo Mein, fried rice, and other Chinese food. "Enough for our family AND Sam and Tucker!"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You knew they were coming?" he asked.

"Of course, Danny!" Jazz answered with a bright smile. "We wanted to surprise you, is all!"

"Can't say it didn't work!" Danny smirked. "But enough talk, guys! I've been making constructs for my Ghost Realm all day with Clockwork and I'm starving! Let's eat!"

"I hear that!" Jack exclaimed as he picked up a carton of rice and began pouring it into a bowl.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tucker interrupted. "Danny…did you just say ghost realm?"

"Less talking, more eating!" was all Danny said in reply as he began chowing down on some Lo Mein. Tucker and Sam looked at each other and rolled their eyes. When it came to food, there was nothing that could get in Danny's way.

Thirty minutes later, everyone at the dinner table was sighing contentedly as they finished off their last few bowls. "All right, Danny," Sam decided now was a good a time as any to bring the topic back up. "What were you saying earlier about a Ghost Realm?"

"Right," the halfa nodded. "Clockwork and the ghost elders gave me this huge island as my territory for saving the world and the GZ for like the third time now. I'm planning on building it as a public place for all the ghosts to enjoy."

"Really?" Sam's eyes lit up. "That sounds so cool, Danny!"

"You gotta tell me there's a bar, Danny," Tucker added. "No better place to pick up the ladies!"

"Funny you should mention that Tucker. There will, in fact, be a bar. But…" Danny glanced questioningly at his best friend. "…uh…Tucker, you do realize the _ladies _you want to pick up are ghosts? Who happen to be _dead_?"

Tucker's excitement dissolved instantly. "Oh….right, forgot about that."

"Aaaaaaaaanyway," Sam interrupted, "that's really generous of you, Danny!"

Danny nodded and smiled. "I feel like a lot of the reason why the ghosts attack Amity is simply because they're bored. I mean, what the heck do people do in the Ghost Zone anyway? I sure don't know. Maybe if they're too busy having fun, they'll stop messing around with our town and everyone wins!"

"Doing all the work now so that you can do less work later?" Tucker winked at Danny and gave him a thumbs up. "Classic!"

"Plus I'm also using it as a way to make friends with some of the ghosts I fight with," he continued. "Believe it or not I'm actually on relatively decent terms with Walker now!"

"You mean like the GHOST WARDEN Walker?" Sam asked, both impressed and incredulous at the same time. "How'd you pull THAT off?"

Danny shrugged. "Caught a couple of ghost criminals for him as a peace offering. For now we've agreed to leave each other alone, though I think he may be helping me out with my realm somehow later. Walker's not the only ghost I've made peace with, either. I'm friends with Ember now too!"

If the floor wasn't made of hard marble Sam and Tucker's jaws would have dropped right through it. "Holy…" Tucker whistled. "Are you…are you talking about Ember McLain? Like, pink guitar, blue flaming hair, mind control powers? THAT Ember?"

"You're the one who's been gaga-ing over her for, like, forever, Tucker!" Jazz pointed out. "Do you know any other Ember?"

"How did THAT happen?" Tucker and Sam both asked simultaneously.

"It's a long story," Danny warned.

"I've got all of summer to kill, I don't care," Tucker replied.

_One Hour Later_

"I can't believe Clockwork let Dan torture you like that!" Sam shouted angrily. "I thought he was supposed to be looking out for you!"

Danny actually rolled his eyes this time. "You're the third person who told me that, right after Ember and Jazz."

"And you actually trust Ember?" Sam pressed on. "Have you forgotten something, Danny? She's evil! She tried to take over the world multiple times now! Not to mention that lovesong she tried to put on you!"

"I'm not so sure about the evil part, actually," Danny corrected. "I've been doing some research on ghosts ever since you and Tucker went on your vacations. Some of the ghosts were definitely human before they died, that much I know for sure. I'm pretty sure that Johnny, Kitty, Youngblood, and Ember aren't really evil so much as they're just bored out of their minds for the first three or bitter about something in Ember's case."

"I still don't like it, Danny," the goth muttered.

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "You can't possibly be…jealous…by any chance?" he asked.

"No, Tucker," Sam shook her head. "I know it sounds like denial, but Danny and I broke up because it didn't work out, that's fine. Didn't you hear me talk about the guy I met at the Goth Convention? But seriously, even you have to recognize that blindly trusting someone like Ember is a bad idea."

The techno-geek mayor had to concede on that one. "Danny, are you sure that Ember's not gonna cause you trouble anymore?"

"I'm trying to be friendlier with the ghosts in the GZ, that's the whole point of making my realm the way it is, Tucker," Danny answered firmly. "Gotta start somewhere, and if you look on the database you'll find that Ember's actually one of the better starting options. Let's just give her a chance, and if she blows it, we'll have a thermos with her name on it waiting for her."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, then Sam shook her head. "Unless she actually proves that she deserves your trust, Danny, then I'm not buying it."

"I get how you feel, Sam, trust me, I do," Danny reasoned. "Just do me a favor and don't go after her guns blazing, okay? Otherwise the only reason Ember will go back to being my enemy is because you didn't even give her a chance."

"Okay…" Sam reluctantly nodded. "But the thermos is coming out the moment she goes back to being evil!"

Danny nodded and turned to Tucker. "Do I need to ask you to do the same thing, Tuck?"

Tucker shrugged. "Hey, I don't have problems hanging out with a really hot and popular ghost rock star if she's not your enemy anymore. Maybe you could get me some tickets to her concerts?" he added hopefully.

"Eh heh heh, I highly doubt you'll be invited back after the last time," Danny drawled.

Tucker pouted while Sam asked, "So, uh, when are we going to see this new realm of yours?"

"Right now if you want!" the halfa instantly perked up. "Mom? Dad?" he called out to them. "Do you want to come with us to the Ghost Zone to see my realm?"

Maddie's head instantly peeped into view from behind the kitchen door. "I'd love to, Danny," she answered regretfully. "But unfortunately I can't. Your father and I have been working on a very sensitive experiment that requires your dad and I to supervise it every hour, otherwise days of work will go straight to the trash heap. And possibly cause an explosion."

"I promise, Danny," Jack's voice added in to his wife's, "as soon as we get all of this stuff done we'll all take a nice trip to your Ghost Realm. It will be like a mini-Fenton vacation!"

Danny couldn't help but smile despite the disappointment. "All right! Hope it works out for you!"

"Thanks, sweetie!" Maddie replied as she finished up the last of the dishes.

Danny turned back to his friends and sister. "You ready to go now?"

"As opposed to what, wearing a pink dress in my parents' place?" Sam shuddered. "Ghost Zone, here we come!"

_Ghost Zone, Danny's Realm_

"Holy…" Tucker breathed. "This is really all yours?"

"Every single last bit of it!" his friend proclaimed proudly. He had decided to travel in his upgraded Ecto-Skeleton while Tucker, Sam, and Jazz rode alongside him in the Specter Speeder. "Now if I only it actually had stuff on it…"

"Why don't you try and build it up now?" Sam asked curiously. "I mean, the earlier you finish it up the better, right?"

Danny shook his head and sighed. "I spent all of this morning training on building stuff in my realm with Clockwork. I really don't have the energy to make any more." Suddenly, a familiar blue wisp floated from his mouth. "Oh, geez," he groaned, "please tell me it isn't Skulker again."

"Surely not, oh Great One! That incompetent fool of a hunter cannot hope to match the prowess of the warriors of the Far Frozen!"

All four of their eyes widened in shock and Danny whirled around. "Frostbite?" he asked incredulously.

"Indeed, Danny Phantom!" the massive ghost yeti grinned. "As soon as I learned about the news from Clockwork, I journeyed far from my kingdom in the Far Frozen just to witness the glory that is your new Ghost Realm!"

"Great to see you!" the halfa exclaimed as he embraced his former ice core mentor. "I didn't think you left the Far Frozen that often, Frostbite!"

"But of course, oh Great One!" he explained. "Whenever the ghost elders convene, I must join in their council, for I am one of them as a representative of those regions. And just because I do not travel far into the Ghost Zone, does not mean that I cannot. Indeed, there are few who would dare attempt to antagonize the King of the Far Frozen!"

The massive yeti looked inside the Specter Speeder. "Ah, I see you have brought your two friends with you! But who is the third? I do not believe I have yet had the pleasure of making her acquaintance!"

"Frostbite, this is Jazz, my sister. Jazz, this is Frostbite, King of the Far Frozen."

Jazz did her best to curtsy in jeans and a black sweater. "An honor, King Frostbite."

The yeti laughed jovially. "No need for such formalities, sister of the Great One. These three call me by Frostbite only, you are quite free to do the same!"

"All…all right, Frostbite!" Jazz replied, the tension already easing from her. "Sure thing!"

"Now then," Frostbite turned to Danny. "I have actually come to deliver a message to you from one who claims to be related to you. Are you familiar with the name Dani Phantom?"

"DANI?" the halfa shouted. "Yeah! She's my cousin! You've seen her?"

Frostbite nodded. "As it currently stands Dani Phantom is in the care of the Far Frozen, training her ice core as you have done." He laughed. "She has had even less success controlling her powers than you in your first time. Fortunately, after your departure we have created an arena specifically for ghosts to train their ice powers in isolation without risk of harming others."

Danny's lips quirked at the memory. "So, uh, when can I see her?"

"You need not to seek her out, Great One. She will be completing her basic training very soon and has planned to venture forward to find you as soon as she finishes."

"Cool!" Danny flashed a thumbs up at the yeti. "Thanks for letting me know!"

The King of the Far Frozen grinned. "A pleasure, Great One!" His grin instantly faded, however. "A far greater pleasure than playing host to that black-hearted pretender, to be sure…" he almost growled.

Danny's smile disappeared as well. "Black-hearted pretender…do you mean?"

"Yes, Great One," Frostbite confirmed solemnly. "Clockwork deemed it prudent to alert us of Dan Phantom's diabolical machinations, and it is good that he did so. The flame-hearted monster attempted to impersonate what I can only assume was your human form. Thankfully, thanks to Clockwork's warning, we were able to see through the disguise before disaster struck. The Dark One hurled insults at me and my kin, but finished his errand and departed without causing any further disruption. I can only assume that whatever chain Clockwork has on that monstrosity is enough to hold him in check."

Frostbite cast Danny a stern glance. "I must warn you, Great One, do not ever assume your human form in the Ghost Zone, for that is the strategy that the Dark Pretender attempted to sow chaos among us."

The hero bowed his head in shame. "I'm truly sorry, Frostbite. The only reason he exists is because of me."

Frostbite shook his massive head. "Do not allow yourself to fall into that emotional trap, Danny Phantom. You are not Dan Phantom, not now, and not ever."

Danny was about to say something in response, but suddenly the Specter Speeder's communicator rang. Tucker reached down on the dashboard and activated it. "Specter Speeder, come in?"

"Hi, Tucker!" Maddie's voice resonated cheerfully. "We've got some important news for you guys, some good, some bad."

"The good news is," Jack's voice boomed, "our experiment worked! Turns out we overestimated how much time we'd need to wait on the project. It's finished, and if everything turns out okay we'll have it ready for you when you get back! The bad news is…you know that explosion my wife was talking about?"

"Yeah?"

"It, uh…it happened anyway," Jack deadpanned. "Neither of us got hurt, thankfully, but the, uh, portal's kind of…kind of…"

"It blew up, didn't it?" Sam muttered.

"Yep…" Maddie replied. "It'll take us several hours to fix it. I know you guys have been in the Ghost Zone before, will you be okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, mom!" Danny answered in his own communicator. "I have friends in the GZ who I can hang out with until the portal's up and running again. Phantom out!"

"That's great to hear sweetie! Fenton lab out!"

The Specter Speeder and Ecto-Skeleton's communicators fell silent. Danny looked over at Frostbite. "Uhm…Frostbite, if it wouldn't be too much to ask, can I visit Dani now? Since I can't go home anyway…"

"But of course! Come, my friends! Let us depart to the realms of the Far Frozen!"

_The Far Frozen_

"DANNY!" a white and black blur rushed towards Danny. Before the halfa hero could even comprehend what was going on, his cousin had enveloped him in an ectoplasm-crushing hug.

"Whoa there, cousin!" Danny pat her head lightly as he gently separated himself, laughing as he did so. "Not so fast, okay? Otherwise you'll crush my human half!"

"It's so good to see you!" Dani exclaimed. "Did Frostbite tell you about my ice core training? I can't believe it activated so soon! Thank goodness I was already hanging around the Far Frozen when it went off, Frostbite told me you barely survived when yours did!"

"Yeah…" Danny muttered, "and let me tell you, cuz, that wasn't a fun time. For anyone involved."

Dani grinned up at him. "I'm almost done with training, Danny! In about a few hours I'll be done, and then you can show me the Ghost Realm Frostbite's been talking about!"

"You know about that?"

"Duh! The entire Far Frozen knows about your realm, _oh Great One_!" she teased.

"Pleeeeeeeeease don't call me that too," Danny rolled his eyes. He was almost thankful for Frostbite's interruption.

"Now then, Great One, perhaps you would like to tell me what your plans for your realm are?"

"Sure thing, Frostbite!" Danny took out the map he had been holding and unrolled it. "Here's what I'm planning to do."

/

A moment later, Frostbite was rubbing his furred chin thoughtfully. "I do believe that you have an excellent strategy in befriending your ghostly enemies, Danny Phantom. However, I have noticed that your planning in terms of some of the logistics regarding maintenance and running this realm are a bit lacking."

"What do you mean, Frostbite?"

"You mentioned a bar, Great One. Have you considered that you currently lack any employees to serve food and drink, for example? Or to clean your establishment at the end of every day? And how will you pay for those employees? Not everyone is as generous and selfless as you"

Danny's face fell as he realized that Frostbite was right. "Oh, great…" he groaned. "So is my idea suddenly kaput?"

"Not at all!" Frostbite exclaimed. "In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth! While most of my kin are indeed hardened warriors, not all embrace that way of life! After all, a civilization cannot exist solely based on one lifestyle. I can think of several Far Frozen denizens that would gladly leave this island and serve you as bartenders and cleaners to enjoy a life of peace."

"Really?" Danny's face lit up with a hopeful smile.

"As soon as you finish the creation of your realm, Great One, I will gladly present you to the yetis who would be interested in working for you. Many of them would consider it an honor to serve the champion of Two Worlds, even if he did cause pandemonium when training with his ice core," he added somewhat dryly.

"Eh heh heh…" the halfa laughed nervously, "…sorry about that."

"Can I come and help, Danny?" Dani Phantom interrupted, waving a hand at him. "Can I, please?"

Frostbite laughed gently. "Your enthusiasm is admirable, little one, but I'm afraid that the creation of his ghost realm is something that Danny must do alone." He looked up at his hero and former student. "Here is my proposition to you, Danny Phantom. Go forth from these lands and develop your realm. Mold it into your heart's content, so that it may become something truly great for all spirits of this world to enjoy. When you have finished, come back here, and I will give you the supplies and manpower that you will need."

"You really are too kind, Frostbite!" Danny protested. "I can't just take advantage of your hospitality like that!"

"Nonsense!" Frostbite brushed it aside. "You have saved the world many times over without asking anything in return. It is only appropriate that you receive a proper reward after such a long time. As soon as Dani finishes her training, I will give her permission to depart and join you and your friends."

"Awesome!" she laughed excitedly. "I can't wait to join you guys! Don't do too much without me!"

"I'll save some seats for you, Danielle," Danny laughed as he climbed back onto his Ecto-Skeleton.

"Your cousin sure seems a lot happier now that she's been training with Frostbite," Sam remarked as they flew off back towards Danny's island. "She's really had a rough life, hasn't she?"

"Danielle's a Fenton, even if it's through cloning," Jazz replied confidently. "I'm not surprised at all she managed to pull through!"

"So what's the plan now?" Tucker asked.

"We go back to my realm," Danny answered with a smile. "And then we get to work!"

/

And just like that, the main cast (and Dani) are back in the game! I didn't want another typical "Sam gets jealous of any girl with Danny" plotline, so I had her meet up with some unnamed character from out of the story as an implied love interest so that she doesn't care as much. I'll let you guys decide whether I should bring him into the story or not. And no, it's not Gregor :P

I hope Frostbite and Dani were in character. Let me know if I screwed them up somehow.

The reason why there wasn't an official introduction between Jazz and Dani was because that they've already met before. Keep in mind that this story takes place several months after PP, and I believe there's a highly likely chance the two of them would have met before at some point, especially since Maddie and Jack no longer have any hostility towards benevolent ghosts like their son.

Ember will be back next chapter :)


	8. Chapter 8 - Rise of the Phantom Stadium

I'm so glad to see that my story is popular with you guys! You're the inspiration I need to keep writing good chapters quickly!

And now it's time for Ember to return! And if you liked the hints of ruthless!Clockwork I've dropped earlier in the fic, you'll see him in full force now!

Changed the rating to T because of occasional cursing.

Chapter 8 – Rise of the Phantom Stadium

_Ghost Zone, Fenton Portal_

"Yup…" Jazz deadpanned, "…mom and dad did it again..."

As Jack and Maddie had warned, the portal to the Fenton lab had been completely deactivated in whatever explosion they'd accidentally unleashed. If one attempted to forcibly pry open the metal doors, they would only find the endless expanse of the Ghost Zone beyond them instead of the all-too familiar spiral swirl.

"Sorry about this, guys…" Danny sheepishly apologized. "This wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend our first day back together…"

"Eh," Sam shrugged, "it's not like there were that many options back home anyway. Meeting your cousin and Frostbite again was a lot more exciting than anything I had planned."

"Yeah!" Tucker agreed. "And since we've got plenty of time to kill, maybe we can see you work on your ghost realm a bit!"

"Hold that thought, Tuck," Danny interrupted. He reached into the Ecto-Skeleton's storage and snagged what look like a packet of light-blue liquefied ecto-energy. He opened it up and quickly chugged down the packet, before blasting it with a small ray. The halfa grinned as he felt his energy level rocket upward and any earlier fatigue from practicing with Clockwork fade away in an instant. "Okay, let's do it!"

"What was that you just drank?" Tucker asked.

"Oh, that," he explained. "That was an Ecto-Amplifier packet my parents made. They took a small sample of my core ectoplasm a few weeks ago and mass produced some drinks from it that would give me a power boost whenever I drank one. Since it was my ectoplasm they made it with, those packets only work on me.

"Which actually isn't really a bad thing, if you think about it," Jazz pointed out.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I get what you're saying; your enemies couldn't use it if they stole one. But how do you know that for a fact? I thought nowadays your parents only capture ghosts to eject them back into the Zone and you're the only one they really use for tests."

"The last time I saw Dani before today, and this was a while ago, I snuck her one to try and see if she could use it," the halfa shrugged. "Didn't work."

"Man…" Tucker whistled. "Aren't you two identical in every way except for age and a chromosome? Dude, talk about precise science!"

"Yeah…" Danny agreed. "You know, come to think of it, since I have an ice core, drinking the Ecto-Amplifier packet might actually hurt ghosts with fire cores. Like a certain fruit loop if he wasn't stranded in space, a certain evil alternate me who got smashed down by Clockwork…"

"…and a certain new symbol of teen revolution, baby pop?"

Danny did a double-take as the rock star ghost floated up in front of him. "I hope you weren't planning on trying to poison me, Danny," Ember smirked. "And right after we decided to be friends, too!"

"Oh hey, Ember!" Danny raised a friendly hand in greeting, ignoring the shocked looks on his friends' faces. He'd never addressed Ember that amicably in the past. "You really like to hang around this portal, don't you?"

"Yeah, well, I actually had a reason for it this time. I was gonna go into the human world to try and set up another concert with my band," she gestured at the portal with her thumb. "So much for that."

"What, so you can try to mind control the world again?" Sam asked sharply.

Ember's eyes narrowed as she looked at the goth. "This one still doesn't like me," she thought, barely hiding a smug smile. "What, is she jealous that I've started hanging out with baby pop now?" Outwardly, though, she kept her demeanor the same. "Hah, like that worked out so well before, goth girl. At this point I got the message that I'm gonna get more out of my concerts if I do them legit instead of brainwashing the world into buying my CDs. At least with the first one there won't be a certain baby pop trying to screw it up and send my ratings into the pits again."

"For the record," Danny pointed out, "a lot of that was technically Tucker."

"Aww what the hell, man!" the beret-wearing techno geek protested, to the amusement of everyone except Ember who simply glowered at him.

"I still haven't forgotten about that, geek!" she snarled. Danny glared at her and she quickly forced herself to calm down. "Anyway, my plan for the day's shot, what are you guys doing?"

"Well, Danny was actually going to start making his realm now, we were just checking the status of the portal before we headed off," Jazz explained. Tucker and Sam looked at her in stunned confusion; first Danny had greeted one of his most powerful enemies like an old friend, and now Jazz was spilling the beans on their plans without so much as an eye blink? Just what had happened while they'd been gone?

Ember smirked. "You don't say? Well then, baby pop, this I've gotta see!"

"Who said we'd be inviting you?" Sam was about to retort, but at the very last moment she managed to keep silent. She'd promised Danny that she was going to give Ember a chance, and her loyalty towards her former boyfriend outweighed any antagonism she had for his enemies, even if was only slightly. "You better not cause us any trouble, Ember," she snapped instead.

The rock star raised an eyebrow. "You actually think I'm stupid enough to fight the dipstick in the suit he beat the Ghost King with?" she snorted. "I think I'd rather start dating Skulker again."

"Wait a minute…" Danny suddenly interrupted her. "Skulker told me a while back that he had a girlfriend. That was…that was…you?" He and his three friends tried to hide their laughter...and failed spectacularly. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up, dipstick!" Ember growled. "Real funny, isn't it?"

"I'm not laughing at you…well…ok, I kinda am…" Danny amended slightly. "But seriously…what the heck did you even see in that guy?" he gasped out between chuckles.

She rolled her eyes. "I wish I knew. That guy's got an ego the size of the GZ. But I didn't come here to talk about that metalhead. Let's get outta here."

Danny shrugged. "Fine by me." He gestured for them to follow him as they began flying towards his island. The trip occurred mostly in silence apart from the occasional banter. It wasn't long before the familiar realm appeared in front of them.

However, this time it wasn't completely empty. "Look out!" Sam exclaimed. "It's Walker!"

"WALKER?" Ember spluttered. She instantly turned intangible and flew into the Specter Speeder. "Make some room, dweebs, I am NOT gonna be spending a couple hundred years in a cell!"

"Couple hundred years?" Tucker's eyes widened. "Ouch!" He looked back towards Danny, expecting him to start attacking…and was surprised to see his best friend calmly approach Walker, seemingly undisturbed by the presence of the warden. All four of them watched with bated breath as the two of them exchanged words, and then, incredibly, Walker extended a gloved hand towards Danny. The surprise only doubled as Danny reached out from the Ecto-Skeleton and accepted the handshake. Walker grinned, nodded, and flew off towards the direction of his prison. As he passed by the Specter Speeder, he looked inside it with a wary glance, but said nothing as he departed.

"What was that?" Tucker asked the question on all of their minds as soon as the warden was gone.

"Oh," Danny shrugged, "just a little agreement we have now. I told you guys I'd made my peace with him before, right?"

"You didn't tell me," Ember muttered.

"Short version is the ghost elders decided Walker can't jail me anymore and I decided to get on his good side by catching some criminals for him," he explained. "Like, really dangerous and evil criminals, not petty stuff. Basically we leave each other alone now for the most part, but sometimes I'll do a little something for him and in exchange he does a little something for me."

"Heh…not bad, baby pop, not bad. Gotta admit, you sure know how to make friends with the right ghosts." She suddenly remembered the ghost realm that had been the reason why they had come here in the first place. "So, Danny, what are you gonna be working on first?"

"I know exactly what I'm going to be working on first," he replied confidently. "I have an Ecto-Skeleton that amplifies my power by 100, and it's time I put this bad boy to good use!" He held out both of the Ecto-Skeleton's hands towards the left part of the island. Remembering what Clockwork had told him, he closed his eyes for just a moment, picturing the massive circular stadium that he wanted to create. Danny opened his eyes once he had a firm image in mind, and then concentrated on the ectoplasm surrounding his target area.

Everyone watched as the ectoplasm began to gather, swirling and shaping and molding together at Danny's command until it had compiled into a tremendous, formless mass several stories tall. For several minutes, as the hero focused on his vision, the ectoplasm at the base of the mass began to solidify into the familiar shape of a metal wall that circled around the area he had chosen, with four entrances framed with archways at the North, East, South, and West ends. Danny continued to build up the metal wall and only stopped after it had been erected to be several stories tall. For a moment, he was tempted to build a glass dome over the stadium but decided against it since it was probably going to be destroyed anyway by all the ghost fights that would be happening in there.

"Well, got the shape and thickness right," Danny thought, "but MAN this thing looks ugly! I'm gonna have to fix that!" He began to fly around the stadium walls, dividing the walls with horizontal ledges to split it into sections and carving in columns to give it a more appealing look. Next to the entrances, Danny erected pairs of statues representing the ghosts that had chosen to befriend him rather than cause him suffering: the East entrance (the one facing the rest of the realm) featured himself, the South entrance Wulf and Dorathea's dragon form, the West entrance Dani and Pandora, the North entrance Clockwork and Frostbite, all with proud and confident expressions on their faces as they stared out towards the ghosts who would one day pass them by.

"Wow…" Jazz whistled. "I didn't know my little bro had such an appreciation for the arts!"

"I'm a little miffed that he didn't make statues of us!" Tucker grouched.

"This is the GHOST zone," Sam replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Ghosts don't care that much about humans, even if they're the friends and sister of the great Danny Phantom. Actually, it would probably only piss them off. Most of those statues show elders that people here would respect."

"Got it in one, goth girl," Ember confirmed. "If I was your average run-of-the-mill dipstick ghost, I wouldn't give a crap about seeing your mugs up near that stadium. Oh, who am I kidding?" she laughed. "I still wouldn't anyway!"

"I don't know if I should feel gratified or insulted," Sam muttered as she turned her attention back to Danny…only to find that he was gone. "Wait, where did Danny go?"

"My guess would be…in the stadium," Tucker pointed at a green light that was emanating from inside the massive building Danny had just created.

Meanwhile, Danny was surveying the inside of the stadium that he had just created. To his pleased surprise, the wall had turned out all but perfectly; apparently the massive power boost he'd enjoyed thanks to the Ecto-Skeleton had also increased his precision as well. All that was left was to carve out the entrances, which he did by manipulating the ectoplasm this time to dissolve away at the locations he'd specified. He indulged himself with a pleased grin as he saw the statues he had created through the now completed hallways in the stadium wall.

Now that Danny was in the inside of his stadium, he could see that the actual field had slightly more area than a baseball field if one were to be reformatted into a circular area. "I think that'll be good enough for now," he thought aloud. "More than enough room for two ghosts to fight. Clockwork said I could always reformat it later if I need to, the only option that will be closed by then would be total destruction." He looked around at the empty arena and sighed. "Now for the boring part…"

"…the seats?" Jazz, Ember, Sam, and Tucker all said over the intercom at the same time as they flew the Specter Speeder over the top and into the arena.

"…the seats…" Danny confirmed. He suddenly groaned. "Ugh...can't believe I'm doing work during a summer vacation."

"Hop to it, baby pop, this arena won't make itself," Ember reminded him.

"Thanks for reminding me, Ember…" Danny groaned again.

_Meanwhile…_

"We've looked for Ember everywhere and there's been no sign of her!" Kitty exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration as she and Johnny rode through the Zone. "Where the heck is she?"

"She's your best friend, kitten, and you were the one who told me to stop hanging around with other girls besides you," Johnny pointed out.

Kitty lightly smacked her boyfriend across the back of his head. "You know what I mean, Johnny!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Johnny muttered. "Well, we haven't seen Ember at any of her friends' places. And the Fenton Portal's busted for now. Which means she either got out of the GZ before it blew up, she took a natural portal out…"

"No way!" Kitty shook her head. "She might be a rebel, but Ember's not stupid enough to take an unknown portal out to who knows where or when? Remember when Clockwork had to rescue the Box Ghost from a portal that shot him out in Ancient Rome? He was NOT happy."

"Is it just me or has Clockwork suddenly been harsher ever since the whole thing with Dan Phantom?" Johnny asked. "I mean, we all knew he was powerful, but back then he was just some distant guy who occasionally helped out whenever he needed to. Then the whole deal with the evil version of the punk came along and suddenly everyone's scared of pissing him off!"

"I know what you're saying," Kitty agreed. "Remember that time when not a single ghost went through the Portal for an entire week until Phantom could take the make-up for that stupid test?"

_Flashback_

_A crowd of Danny's ghosts, including many of his familiar enemies, had gathered in front of the Fenton Portal. It would have looked like an imminent ghost invasion in any other circumstance…save for the one figure wearing a purple cloak and holding a time staff standing in front of the gates of the Portal, blocking anyone from passing through._

"_You may have wondered why I have called you here in front of this portal," Clockwork said coolly as he stared unflinchingly at the mass of ghosts standing in front of him. "The reason is simple. For the next week, Danny Phantom will be studying for his make-up C.A.T. exam. During that week, not a single ghost will invade Amity Park and distract him from his studies._

_The entire crowd of ghosts laughed at the declaration, Skulker hardest amongst them all. "Oh, really?" he sneered. "And why would we care to obey that?"_

"_Because it was the numerous disruptions of Danny's life that caused him to almost made a choice that would have damaged the worlds of both humans and ghosts beyond repair," Clockwork answered. "Phantom has rectified his mistake so that such a future will never happen, but while the choices he made, both good and bad, are his own, your constant invasions of Amity Park were a significant factor in why such a future was possible in the first place. Now that he has made the right choice, I will see to it that he is rewarded with the peace and quiet that he deserves for the C.A.T. And you will do nothing to cause any further disruption that could tempt him again."_

"_Bah!" Skulker snarled. "This is a waste of my time! I am going after that boy's pelt like I've always done and there's nothing you can do to stop me, old man!"_

"_I see then you wish to learn the hard way? Then by all means, hunter, attempt to cross the portal, and see what happens. This is your last warning," the Master of Time threatened in a dangerously calm voice._

_Skulker activated his jetpack and flew towards the portal, only for Clockwork to declare, "Time out!" Instantly Skulker froze in midair as he was engulfed in temporal stasis. Clockwork looked as though he was about to blast the hunter backward, but a sudden idea crossed his mind. If it was violence these ghosts understood, then violence would be their teacher. Instead of merely blowing him back with an energy ball from his staff, the Master of Time floated in front of Skulker, raised his staff like a baseball bat, and then smashed it into the hunter's armored head with brutal force, unfreezing time at the exact same moment._

_The hunter didn't even have time to ask what had just happened as his head exploded into excruciating agony, the impact of Clockwork's strike nearly knocking the blob ghost within utterly senseless even with the protection that his armored head provided. The crowd of ghosts was no longer laughing; their instincts screamed at them that they had landed themselves in danger that was far too late for them to escape from._

"_You think you can stand against the primordial force of Time?" Clockwork asked as he raised his staff into the air. "The moment you decided to violate my command you insisted on learning the hard way." At this, his eyes flashed from their normally dull red to a bright, malevolent scarlet. "And now you will pay the price for your arrogance."_

_What followed wasn't quite the same as Danny's Ghostly Wail, but with its sheer devastation it might as well have been. Clockwork swung his staff forward and unleashed a ruthless cascade of temporal shockwaves that blasted towards the assemblage of ghosts. Several of the attempted to dodge the destructive energies, but there were simply too many for them to avoid. Whenever a ghost got hit by one, they were sent flying backward with brutal force and all of their fighting energy drained out of them, any potential for combat wiped out in an instant. Danny's enemies suffered the worst of Clockwork's wrath; nobody knew for sure if he had intentionally targeted them, but many of them were blasted by two or even three shockwaves. By the time Clockwork had finally ceased his attack, the entire opposition had been thoroughly defeated and Skulker's armor completely torn apart, leaving only his blobby true self behind._

"_Okay!" he squeaked desperately. "I'm sorry! We get it, we get it! No trips to Amity for a week!"_

"_You…" one of the ghosts gasped. "You can't just dictate our afterlives like this! If you do, you're no better than a tyrant!"_

"_And I have no intention of dominating the afterlife," Clockwork replied. "Once the week is up and Phantom's C.A.T. test complete, you will be free to continue on your business and battle with the ghost hero as you have always done, for whatever reasons you may have. One week without fights. One week of peace to ensure that the new time stream is completely secure. That is the decree that I have dictated, a decree that the Observants has fully approved in order to protect the present and the future."_

"_I thought Clockwork and the Observants didn't get along?" Technus whispered to Desiree._

"_Apparently they do more than we think," she muttered back._

"_As much as I'd like to hope that this would be enough to sway you, I know that if I do not take another measure then some of you might be brazen enough to ignore my command," Clockwork continued. As soon as he finished speaking, there was a blaze of purple and green flame as the Fright Knight appeared, wielding his sword and riding his nightmarish horse._

_The Fright Knight bowed before Clockwork, "Your unexpected ruthlessness is truly inspiring, Master of Time. Though I scarcely believe that I am saying this to one that many have long considered a kindly mentor, what is your command?"_

_Clockwork smile was colder than the realms of the Far Frozen. "Your orders are simple, spirit of fear. Until I come to relieve you of your position next week, do not allow a single ghost to cross that portal unless he or she is given explicit permission by me to do so. You may subject any who attempt to do so to your tender mercies. Then, after you are done toying with them, bring them to me."_

_The Fright Knight laughed menacingly, positioning his horse in front of the closed portal as Clockwork gave his final word to the now terrified assemblage. "You do not yet fathom how close you stood to the brink of ruination. Whatever threat Danny Phantom poses to you now is nothing compared to the terror that he would bring in a world where he fell and became corrupted. But know this," Clockwork's eyes narrowed as he began to teleport away. "Any attempt to attack Danny Phantom from now until 4 pm next Saturday will be considered by me as a direct attack on time itself...and to the enemies of time I will show no mercy."_

_End Flashback_

"Scary stuff…" Johnny agreed as they drove on. "Okay, there's only one place I can think of we haven't checked yet, and that's Danny's new realm."

"Johnny?" Kitty asked tentatively. "Do you think we should…maybe…stop being enemies with Phantom?"

Her boyfriend and Shadow both raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The more I think about it, the more I feel like we're only going to end up hurting ourselves," she explained. "I mean, forget the fact that the ghost kid beat the crap out of four of us by himself yesterday. There's a LOT of ghosts who're actually on his side now. Like, bigshot ghosts. Clockwork, Pandora, Dora and Frostbite, they all like him and two of them rule their own frigging kingdoms! Heck, even Ember's starting to like him now! And she'd tell me if she was trying to trick him, we're closer than sisters! Would you want to be the next one on their shit lists by trying to off Danny?"

Johnny paled even more than normal. "So you're telling me that the kid's got what's effectively the functional half of the entire GHOST COUNCIL on his side?"

"We're never gonna beat him, Johnny. So let's just stop making life hard for ourselves and for him, it isn't getting us anywhere. Besides," she smiled, "maybe we'll get some of the perks for being friends with the hero." She accompanied the last two words with air quotes.

"You mean, maybe he'll let us hang around Amity after all so long as we don't cause any collateral damage?" he replied with a smile of his own. "I can actually see that happening. And I honestly do like the kid when he's not trying to blast my bike or trap me in a stupid thermos. Ember's done a lot more to piss him off than we have, and if she can get on his good side then so can we." His eyes suddenly widened. "And speaking of Phantom, what the heck is THAT thing?"

"That," Danny declared proudly as he flew over the top of the stadium to greet them, "is the new and finished Phantom Stadium! The ultimate arena for ghost duels and battles! Ever have a bad day and feel like blowing off some steam? Got a bone to pick with another ghost? You won't find a better place to let out all of your misplaced aggression!"

"Whoa…" Johnny and Kitty was completely at a loss for words.

"Yeah, but things will really get good once I get the tournaments set up," Danny continued enthusiastically. "You'll get to battle in front of a thousand ghosts, showing your skills against other ghosts, proving to everyone else why you're the top fighter of the GZ!"

"Oh?" a voice rumbled behind him. "A stadium, you say? For the glory of battle?"

Danny groaned. "I really don't have time to deal with you, Skulker," he snapped. "Unless you want a backhand from my Ecto-Skeleton, then get lost!"

"I haven't come for your pelt this time, whelp. I've simply heard rumors about this…arena of yours," Skulker replied with a grin. "A chance for me to demonstrate my superiority as the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter in front of thousands? There can be no greater challenge for one of my skill and power!"

"Oh yeah?" Ember snapped as she flew down until she was glaring at him directly at eye-level. "And what makes you think that you'll be the one taking the crown prize, metalhead?"

Skulker's eyes narrowed at his ex-girlfriend, and instantly everybody there, human and ghost, felt the tension rise dangerously. Kitty flashed daggers at Skulker, ready to help her friend out if she needed it.

As it turned out, however, there was one person who either didn't notice the fury-charged atmosphere or just flat-out didn't care. "Hey!" Danny interrupted with an angry shout. "I don't know what the heck happened between you two and I don't care, but you are not taking it out on each other on MY territory!"

Skulker glowered at the halfa. "Stay out of things that aren't your busi…" his voice instantly trailed off, "…ness." Was it just his imagination, or had Phantom's eyes flashed red for a brief moment? He had the instincts of a hunter, and those instincts were screaming at him to back off before he landed himself in a situation that he didn't want to be in.

Ember had noticed it too, and with far more finality than Skulker. How couldn't she, after the near fiasco that had occurred last night? "I don't care anymore," she snapped, opting for an aggressive but nonviolent response to avoid further pissing off the dipstick. "We're through, we've been through, the end, I don't give a damn."

"Fine by me," Skulker growled. He pointed at Danny. "Whelp, I look forward to crushing those who dare oppose me without that cursed warden hovering over my head in that stadium. See to its completion." And with that, he flew off.

"Jerk!" Kitty spat once he was out of earshot.

"You got that right, Kitty," Ember agreed. She looked at Danny. "Can you believe that idiot thinks he's the _Ghost Zone's greatest hunter_ and yet he can't find the freaking TV remote?" she asked him.

"Again, I have no clue what you saw in him," Danny rolled his eyes.

"So what's in this arena of yours?" Johnny asked, deciding to change the topic. "It sure looks sweet on the outside!"

"Come on in," Danny gestured to one of the entrances. Johnny and Kitty got off the bike and floated towards it, Ember just ahead of them. The two of them gasped as they saw the inside of the arena.

"Whoa…"

The arena was now lined with rows of seats, more than a thousand of them, that extended all the way to half way up the wall. A small safety barrier had been erected between the lowest rows and the field itself, which was now inscribed with the familiar DP logo that Danny had long ago adopted. Above each of the four entrances was a gigantic television screen, no doubt designed to display a larger close-up of whatever battle would be raging down below. There were also several light fixtures and a few scattered spotlights lining the top of the arena. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz had vacated the Specter Speeder and were currently exploring the realm in suits designed to protect them from the energies of the Ghost Zone.

"Oh my God, this is so cool!" Kitty squealed.

"Calm down, Kitty. Phantom, if you want some help making a better electric system, you're probably gonna have to ask Technus for something this big," Johnny suggested. "Though I probably don't need to warn you about this, you're not exactly on his good side."

Danny shrugged. "That's a bridge I'll cross when I get there," he decided. "Not that I don't mind the company, but what are you guys doing here anyway?"

"We were looking for Ember, more than anything," Johnny replied. "Kitty went into full-blown panic mode when she found out she was missing and we spent the better part of an hour lookin' for her. But now that we're here, Phantom, we were wondering if you'd like to screw the whole thing about us being enemies. We're kinda tired of gettin' our asses kicked every time we try to take a breath of fresh air around Earth."

The halfa smiled. "I'm already friends with Ember, I don't see why I can't be friends with you two." The biker couple grinned as Danny floated down and offered his hand. "But just so you know…" again, there was the briefest flash of red in his eyes, "…you break my trust, and I'll do more than just put you in the Thermos."

Johnny nodded, appreciating Phantom's tough-guy attitude. "Wouldn't have it any other way, little man," he accepted the handshake. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Great!" Ember grinned, having overheard the conversation. "Now that we're all friends with the baby pop, you can come and watch him build up his crib. Not like you guys have anything else to do anyway, good luck getting to Earth with the Fenton Portal busted."

"So are you done with this stadium, Phantom?" Kitty asked him.

"Almost," Danny confirmed. "Like Johnny said, I'm gonna have to get the electric system improved eventually, but this'll work for now." He suddenly laughed. "This is awesome! I made this awesome arena and it only took me about an hour!"

"I know!" Sam agreed enthusiastically as she and the rest of Team Phantom caught up to Danny. She didn't seem to notice the presence of two more ghosts there. "And you're not even half done with your realm! This is all so cool! I can't wait to tell my boyfriend from the convention about this!"

Tucker and Jazz were expressing similar sentiments, but Ember suddenly found the rest of the conversation irrelevant, thinking only about what the goth girl had just said. "The goth girl's got a different boy toy? Then that means Danny's single, doesn't it?" She furiously brushed aside that train of thought. "Wait a minute, why do I even care? I mean, sure the dipstick's actually really, REALLY hot in that getup instead of that stupid Hazmat suit, but we were almost trying to kill each other last night! Stop thinking about this, Ember, let's take a trip back to reality here…"

"Uh, Em?" Kitty snapped her fingers in front of her face. "GZ to Ember?"

"Ack, er… sorry…" she muttered. "What were we talking about?"

"I'm gonna be making my home here next," Danny repeated. "A comfy house for myself on the opposite side of the island, stylish but nothing crazy like Vlad's mansion."

Ember smirked. "Gotta say, dipstick, you sure didn't disappoint with the Stadium," she replied, masking any confusion she originally had. "Let's see what else you can do!"

/

And that's how Danny created the Phantom Stadium in the Ghost Zone!

Johnny and Kitty weren't really all that villainous to begin with, and I'm sure many fanfic readers/writers agree that they'd be among the easiest ghosts for Danny to make friends with.

I always imagined Clockwork to have two sides to him. One is the familiar kindhearted mentor side that saved Danny's future from being devastated, opted to give him an opportunity to correct his mistake instead of destroying from him, and (in this universe) is training him extensively with his Ghost Powers to the point that he can now match Dan Phantom in terms of fighting prowess. And then you have the badass side that takes no shit from anyone, not even from Danny (which is hinted at when he refuses to fix Danny's problem in Masters of All Time and instead indirectly gives him the tools needed to fix it himself). Something that I've greatly expounded upon in this ficverse with him stomping an army of ghosts without even taking a single bit of damage.

While it might seem OOC for Fright Knight to be obeying Clockwork's commands in this fic, it's not as much as you think. Fright Knight appreciates ruthlessness and power in his masters: Pariah Dark, Dark Danny, and to a degree Vlad. Pariah's trapped in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, Dark Danny has been effectively neutralized as a threat thanks to Clockwork, and his relationship with Vlad is more of a partnership rather than service (which was never expounded upon anyway). When you take these three out, Clockwork makes a surprisingly viable choice for a master of the Fright Knight when you consider his status as one of three Primordials (this will be expanded upon later), a Ghost Elder, and someone who can be ruthless if necessary.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Read and review please!


	9. Chapter 9 - The DP Mansion

A/N: I was bored and exams are done, so time to start a new chapter! I think it's time we bring in some more Dan Phantom!

A new element will be feature into the story, the relationship between Dan and Clockwork. I'll let you read on, but just a clue: their relationship is not ENTIRELY antagonistic.

There will be more of ruthless!Clockwork in this chapter (though not as overt as before), but his next appearances will revert back to the kindhearted aspects of his personality.

Chapter 9 – The DP Mansion

_Clockwork's Tower_

"CLOCKWORK!" an irritatingly familiar voice shouted from outside of his tower. Dan and Clockwork both groaned audibly. "We demand to see you at once!"

"Not them again," the two of them both muttered at the same time. They raised an eyebrow questioningly at each other before turning their attention back towards the entrance to the tower. Sure enough, the pair of Observants hadn't even bothered to wait for an answer and had instead showed themselves in without preamble.

"Don't you fools know how to knock?" Dan sneered, contempt dripping from his voice. The Observants glared at the Dark Phantom before turning their attention to the Master of Time.

"If you are here to question my decision about allowing Dan Phantom out of the Thermos again," Clockwork snapped, "then my answer remains the same and you have wasted both my time and yours with this visit."

The first Observant shook his head. "As distasteful as I find the prospect of the halfa's evil self walking free, that is not why we have come. The Observant High Council has picked up word of your…physical endurance training, as you yourself put it."

"Oh?" Clockwork asked. "Go on."

"What were you thinking, Clockwork?" the second Observant exclaimed. "You were supposed to be in charge of the boy, and yet you allowed his dark half to all but torture him! Not only that, but you also triggered the release of his most powerful and most dangerous state! How do you explain yourself?"

Clockwork stared at the Observants. Did they actually just ask a justifiable and relevant question? About Danny's safety, no less?

Dan apparently had similar thoughts. "Well, well," he mock congratulated, his voice dripping with disdain and sarcasm, "allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations. For once in your pathetic existences you've actually managed to do your jobs properly instead of babbling on about whatever inane foolishness you are normally occupied with. Truly this marks an important moment in history for all of the Ghost Zone."

The Observants spluttered furiously as Clockwork only barely managed to repress a laugh. It would have been entertaining to watch them engage in a full-on shouting match, but he had a schedule to keep. "To answer your question," he continued as though nothing had happened. "The reason why I indirectly released Danny's anger-empowered state to emerge is because to allow its manifestation early now will enable me to further train him in both controlling his anger and his power. It is something that would have occurred regardless of whether or not I had a hand in such a manifestation, and my visions of the future convinced me without a doubt that the course of action that I took was the one that would yield the best results."

"You do realize, of course, that this state nearly resulted in utter calamity last night?" one of the Observants challenged. "The ghost child almost crushed Ember McLain's guitar and, with it, any source of joy she had in her afterlife! You cannot possibly be telling me that this was the best case result!"

"Ah, you have just said it! It resulted in NEAR calamity, NEAR being the crucial term in that sentence." Clockwork replied coolly. "Phantom's anger released itself in the presence of ghosts that he possesses some measure of concern and care for, despite their status as enemies. His sister Jasmine explained it quite well to them after the disaster was averted. It was because of this innate sympathy that he was able to restrain himself from fully giving in to his rage. The defining factor here is not wrath, as one might initially believe, but compassion, hidden though it might have been under an outward layer of antagonism. Danny has several other enemies which he harbors no such compassion for, and if his anger had manifested against one of them, Observants, the consequences would indeed have been very dire."

The two eyeball ghosts looked at each other. Finally, one of them spoke up. "This is something that must be resolved as soon as possible, Clockwork. You have been mentoring the boy for quite some time now. It is the will of the Observant High Council that you train him how to control this new level of power and the rage that drives it as soon as possible."

Clockwork's lips stretched into a smile. "I'd say I thought you'd never ask, but, well, you know…at any rate, I will gladly do so when the earliest opportunity arises. Now then, since your business here is concluded..." he pointed at the entrance to his home, "my tenant will show you out."

The Observants suddenly found themselves grabbed by a telekinetic force. Dan Phantom grinned mischievously as he lifted them up and shoved them out of the tower, the two of them spluttering indignantly all the way. "I never get tired of that," he commented lightly as he reached down to pick up a book he had borrowed from Clockwork's library. He suddenly stopped and looked up at the Master of Time. "How do you deal with those imbeciles on such a frequent basis without losing your mind, taking orders from them no less? If an inferior being dared to issue me a command I would tear out his insides and squash the remains underneath my foot."

Clockwork checked the screen to make sure the Observants were far away from his realm before answering. "As much as I'd like to toss aside orders from the Observant High Council," he acknowledged, "a direct conflict with them would cause me far more headaches than I'd prefer to deal with. You were created from the ghost half of Vladimir Masters, so you should understand the benefits of subtlety better than anyone, Dan Phantom. I find it much more amusing and productive to accept their orders with a smile and a nod, and then either subvert them or follow them on MY terms with them none the wiser. By the time they realize what I've done, if they even do so at all, it's too late for them to do anything about it."

The barest tinge of a smirk reached Dan's lips. "A terrible shame that you waste your potential for manipulation and strategy on _good_," he replied, trying his best to hide the minimal tinge of respect that escaped with a sneer.

"And I could make the same argument about you with regards to evil," Clockwork shrugged, "but neither of us really cares about what the other has to say on this topic, now, do we? Now then," he pointed to one of his screens. "I have a task for you."

"Another errand?" Dan scoffed, "So soon? And just like that, you have lost my interest."

"Would you care if it allowed you to indulge the violent tendencies that your corrupted heart so greatly desires?"

Instantly the Dark Phantom sat up on his chair. "I'm listening."

"There is a dangerous ghost criminal that has been on the loose in the Ghost Zone for far too long. He targets and attacks the ghosts of children, seeing them as easy victims to terrorize and attack."

Dan's face contorted with contempt. "Disgusting," he spat. "I would be the first to proclaim myself as a psychopathic destroyer and I will do so with pride, but all throughout my ten years of terror and destruction, the only targets and opponents that I sought in person were capable of putting up a challenge for me to demolish. Seeking out and singling defenseless targets that can't even put up the most meager of defenses? That is the mark of a coward." Dan's hair flared with his growing loathing. "And I. Despise. Cowardice."

Clockwork nodded. "You have waited a long time to commit violence against another, Dan Phantom. To be allowed that chance is the extent of any mercy that you shall receive from me. Your only restriction is that you cannot destroy this criminal entirely, for Walker would still prefer to have his wretched spirit in his prison to torment and punish. But short of that, he is yours to devastate as you will. Of course, I will allow such violence ONLY towards this particular ghost. You know full well the consequences should you even lift a finger to harm anyone else."

"I have no desire to send myself on a one-way ticket to oblivion, you meddling temporal nuisance." Despite the insult, however, Dan found himself invigorated by the opportunity being offered.

"Then your orders are simple." Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "Hunt him down."

The Dark Phantom's eyes flashed scarlet and a cruel grin stretched across his mouth, already strategizing how he would bring about a new meaning of agony to this wretch. "Destruction without repercussions? You didn't even need to ask."

_The Ghost Zone, Danny's Realm_

"Stylish, but not too crazy…" Ember drawled. "Yeah, right."

The group of ghosts and humans watched as Danny strode out of his new mansion, having completed the finishing touches inside after creating the structure itself with his Ecto-Skeleton. "I was gonna just make a nice, comfortable home for myself," he replied with a smirk. "But then I realized that I have an entire ghost realm, I'm too lazy to design a home from scratch, and I remember what our mansion in Ultra-Posh Polterheights looked like. So I figured, screw it! I'm going all the way!"

He made a welcoming gesture towards the ornate doors. "Guys, welcome to the DP Mansion! Come on in and make yourselves at home! There isn't a ton of stuff beyond basic rooms and furniture, but I hope you like it anyway!"

The crowd of humans and ghosts quickly maneuvered their way into the lobby of Danny's second home. It was very similar to the mansion Jazz remembered, but with one important addition. Or rather, several. Danny might not have commemorated his friends and family in his stadium, but he had gone out of his way to make up for it here. Lining the edges of the walls were several statues and large pictures of very familiar faces. There was Tucker, Sam, Jazz, Jack and Maddie, the friends and family that he cherished above all else. And not just humans, either. The same ghosts that Danny had honored with statues at his stadium were all there, and so was…

"YOU MADE ARTWORK OF US TOO?" Kitty squealed exuberantly. "THAT IS SO COOL!"

Danny shrugged and smiled. "Sure, why not? Consider it my way of celebrating new friends.

Johnny looked up at the picture of him and Kitty leaning casually on his bike, his arm draped around Kitty's shoulder while Shadow lurked in the background. "Wow, little man, you've really got an appreciation of the arts!" His shadow grinned and nodded in approval as the biker couple continued to admire the picture Danny had created of them.

Ember, in the meanwhile, was looking with stunned silence at her picture. She recognized the setting as the time back when she'd first arrived at Casper High on her truck, her first plan to take over the world. The Ember in the picture had her eyes narrowed with a confident grin on her face with her fist high in the air, blue hair on the threshold of igniting, about to call out to all of the Casper High student body to chant her name. Her former enemy had made a representation of her when he'd first seen her in person, and he had captured it perfectly. "Holy…" was all she could process blankly through her mind. "How…"

"Come on, guys!" Danny interrupted their reverie. He gestured towards one of the rooms. "This is just the entrance hall, we've still got a whole mansion to go through!"

_One Hour Later_

"All right, at this point, I don't even care anymore!" Tucker declared as his friend began wrapping up the tour. "I am going to get your parents to make me a personal Speeder Specter, I am going to ride that Specter Speeder to this mansion every day, and I'm going to enjoy every single moment I spend here!"

"Sure, Tuck, you can come here as much as you want! So long as you can find a way around the fact that staying in the Ghost Zone too long without protection will end up killing you through the ecto-energies."

"I'll find a way," Tucker promised. "There's nothing technology can't solve!"

"Except for you being a geek," Johnny retorted, to the amusement of everybody minus Tucker.

"Your room looks exactly like the one you had back in that mansion," Sam pointed out. "You're not going to add anything new to it, Danny? You nearly bored yourself to death the last time you got this rich before we had to get you to save the GZ from the Guys in White and their stupid missile."

"I see your point, Sam," Danny conceded. "But here's the thing. The first time, I completely forgot about my purpose and threw away my calling. But I remember exactly what that is and no amount of video games or money could make me forget that now. I'm not gonna lose myself like I did last time, trust me."

Sam nodded. "So long as that doesn't happen, I can understand why you might want a bit of the rich life every now and then. Just make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. Like my parents do…" she finished grumbling.

"Don't worry about it," Amity's hero replied. He turned to address all of them. "As long as you're my friend and I'm around, feel free to come by as much as you want guys!"

The group of ghosts and humans all made varying noises of excitement and agreement as Danny turned to the last door. "And now, last stop, the basement!"

"Isn't that where Dad had that stupid novelty reality drill or something?" Jazz asked.

Her brother nodded, "yeah, but I've made my basement into something a little more practical." He opened the door and they all walked down the stairs. Tucker gasped as they finally hit the bottom.

The room was a large chamber with dark green walls. Scattered throughout the basement were several pieces of furniture familiar to anybody who owned a game room. There were two pool tables, multiple casino tables meant for different games, a few smaller tables with some board games stacked on them in boxes, a table each for shuffleboard, ping pong, and foosball, a minibar and some normal tables with chairs for people to just hang around. But what really caught Tucker's eye was how a corner of the room had been set aside specifically for video games. A gigantic plasma-screen TV stood proudly at the corner with two sofas and a couch facing it, with multiple game consoles lying neatly at its base.

"A GAME ROOM!" he exclaimed, stars in his eyes and a look of pure bliss on his face. "Danny, if I ever doubted your sense of style before today, man, those doubts are gone, gone, gone!"

"You have a really weird definition of practical, Danny," Sam commented, but even she couldn't hide her awe at the sight of what Danny had created for himself.

"You should totally invite all the ghosts over for poker night on Fridays!" Kitty suggested excitedly. "It would be so much fun!"

"Yeah, as soon as I somehow get past the fact that we're all technically still ENEMIES," Danny deadpanned.

Ember smirked. "Well," she said lightly. "You managed to get me to be your friend in one night, right babypop? And knowing my ex-boyfriend as well as I do, that stadium is something he's looking forward to throwing himself in, if only to inflate his stupid ego. If the rest of the ghosts haven't heard about your new realm soon, dipstick, they will soon."

"Hopefully they don't come here with ecto-attacks blazing and try to blow up the place," Jazz muttered.

Johnny laughed. "Heck no. It's against the rules to attack a ghost while they're in their ghost realm. Or attacking a ghost realm itself. If anybody even tried, Walker would be on their ass in and instant. And where the punk's involved, there's way more powerful guys they should be worried about pissing off than just Walker."

Before Danny could reply, a loud beeping sound suddenly rang from his pocket. "Hold that thought," he said as he reached down and picked up the phone. "What's up, Wulf?"

A series of grows in Esperanto barked from the phone, and Danny's face scrunched up in confusion. "What? You captured an intruder? One of my enemies?" He sighed as he heard the explanation. "Things have changed slightly since the last time we met, Wulf. Hang on, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone. "Be right back, guys, gotta deal with something real quick."

_Walker's Prison_

WHAM!

The doors to Walker's prison swung open and smashed into the walls. Two guards in the waiting room looked up from their newspapers and phones, annoyed at the sudden commotion.

"Hey! Watch what you're…" Immediately, the irritation in their faces melted into complete horror at what they saw. In front of them was a ghost that looked like he had risen straight from the fires of Hell itself, his blood red eyes and cruel smirk all promising a brutal end to any who challenged him. But what was really horrifying to the guards was the DP logo worn on the front of his vest, a logo that anybody, either human or ghost, could recognize anywhere.

"Ph…Ph…Phantom?" one of them all but squeaked.

Dan laughed at the blubbering guard's terror. "I was, once," he hissed, "but I grew out of it."

The other guard gasped and nearly fell over as he stumbled backward. "I know who you are," he whispered. "You're that evil alternate version of the punk that nearly destroyed both the world and the Ghost Zone!"

He lifted his baton and pointed it at Phantom, though his arms and legs were shaking with fear. Dan smirked at the pitiful excuse for a show of authority. "I see my reputation precedes me," he sneered. "Having spent the last few months cooped up in Clockwork's tower I was beginning to wonder if the Ghost Zone was going to forget about me. You don't know how pleased I am to learn that my very name and presence instills just as much terror now as it did when I turned the worlds of the living and the dead into barren wastelands!"

Dan's grin suddenly disappeared. "But enough idle talk. I only came here to deliver a gift to that warden of yours. What was his name…Walker, I believe?"

"That would be it, punk," a Southern-accented voice growled as Walker stepped into view. "What do you want?"

"Simple. I have a prisoner here I wish to deliver to you," the Dark Phantom smirked. "Well…what's left of him, anyway." He reached behind him and grabbed a ghost by the neck, swinging his arm forward and throwing the ruined spirit onto the floor in front of Walker. The two guards all but vomited at the sight, and even Bullet couldn't hide the look of disgust on his face. Walker knew immediately that the "battle" between this evil version of the punk and the criminal had been nothing less than a massacre. Several chunks of ectoplasm had been completely torn apart from its essence, and there were numerous bruises, slashes, and blast marks all over its body. Walker was secretly amazed that he was still able to recognize the criminal from his Wanted list.

"Please…" the ghost gasped, eyes wide with panic and dread. "Take me into your prison! Don't leave me with him! Please!"

"Scum," Dan spat at the ghost's feet before turning to leave. Nobody stopped him; for some reason he hadn't chosen to attack the prison, and nobody wanted to be the one who would give Dan an excuse to do so. It wasn't until he was long gone before Walker turned to give orders to his guards.

"Pick him up and take him to the infirmary," he growled. The two guards instantly did as they were told, taking care not to make the injuries worse. Walker rubbed his head with his gloved hand, thinking intensely. The criminal that Dan had all but demolished had been a complete asshole and a major pain to catch, to put it lightly. In any other time, he would have been positively gleeful to see the lawbreaker brought before him, completely at his mercy. But in this moment, despite his outwardly stoic demeanor, Walker was just as disturbed as the rest of his men, not the least since the criminal had outright begged to be taken into justice. His instincts screamed at him that the less he saw of Dan Phantom, the better off he and everyone would be.

_The DP Mansion Entrance_

"Let me go!" Youngblood shouted as Wulf held him up by the collar of his shirt, legs and arms flailing wildly. "This isn't funny!"

"Are you kidding?" Dani laughed as she watched Youngblood struggle against his grip, arms and legs flailing wildly. "This is hilarious!"

Youngblood stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation. Before he could say anything further, however, the sound of the mansion door opening hit their ears and all three of them turned their attention toward it.

"Like I told you, Wulf, it's all right," Danny signaled with a hand for the fearsome wolf ghost to drop his captive as he stepped out. His eyes widened as he saw his cousin standing there. "DANI?" he gasped, floating over to give her a warm hug. "I thought you were still training with Frostbite! Are you done already?"

"Yep!" she replied cheerfully. "Frostbite gave me instructions on how to get here as soon as I finished, and I arrived just in time to see Wulf pick up, well," she gestured towards Youngblood, "whoever this guy is."

"The name's Youngblood, Master of Make-Believe! And Phantom, dude, having your guard dog throttle me was not cool!"

Wulf growled at Youngblood, but one look from Danny and he immediately stopped. "In our defense, you did try to gang up on me with Johnny, Kitty, and Ember last night. And unlike them, you never really apologized for it."

Dani instantly whirled around and glared at Youngblood. "I knew it. You're one of my cousin's enemies, aren't you?" she snarled.

"Back off, Dani," Danny warned. She glowered at Youngblood but followed his order without comment.

Youngblood's anger deflated; he knew just as much as the other three that things had gone way too far. "Yeah…" he muttered grudgingly, "sorry." He suddenly looked up at Danny. "Wait a minute, you said that they apologized? Like, all of them? Even Ember?"

Danny smiled. "More than that, they actually want to be friends with me now! Once we got all our issues settled, I invited them to watch me build that stadium over there and right now they're chilling out in my new DP Mansion!"

Both Dani's and Youngblood's eyes widened in astonishment; this was news to them. "REALLY?" he gasped. "They're in there right now?"

"Yep, along with Tucker, Sam, and Jazz, hanging out in the game room."

"Game room…" he repeated in an almost trance-like state. Youngblood suddenly put on the friendliest, most endearing smile he could attempt. "Say, Danny…you wouldn't mind being friends with one more ghost, would you?"

Dani flashed her cousin a warning glance, hoping he wouldn't fall for such an obvious ploy. Fortunately, she needn't have worried. "I'm not going to make friends if the only thing you care about is getting into the game room in my mansion, Youngblood," Danny replied curtly. "If we're going to stop fighting, you have to actually mean it."

Youngblood sighed. "Phantom," he replied, his tone suddenly heavy with weariness and…was that sadness? "The only reason why I attacked you in the first place was because I had nothing to do in the Ghost Zone. I just wanted to have a little fun once in a while. You're the first halfa, someone new, someone exciting for me to play with! The only ghosts here who even want to spend time with me at all are Ember, Johnny, and Kitty, and even they stick to themselves more often than not. Everyone else just thinks I'm a stupid kid, both the ghosts here and all of the stupid grown-ups I had to grow up with when I was alive!" his voice grew louder until it was an angry shout. "You wanna know how I died? My babysitter ditched me for his girlfriend while I was playing in the pool and I drowned because nobody was watching me!" he yelled. "There you have it! There's my story! Now you can fill that in your stupid database, Phantom!" Before Danny could say anything, Youngblood fell onto his knees and began sobbing uncontrollably into his hands.

Wulf, Dani, and Danny simply stood there for several seconds, staring at both the weeping Youngblood and at each other with helpless expressions. Neither of them could have possibly been expecting something like this from one who was widely regarded as of the most cheerful and happy-go-lucky ghosts in the entire Ghost Zone. They didn't need to ask whether this was an act or not; the tears spilling onto the ground spoke far more than words ever could.

Dani felt her initial anger at Youngblood completely evaporate in an instant. She knew, better than anyone else, how poor parents could utterly destroy a child's life. "I know it doesn't look like it," she said quietly, "but at one point I think I had it even worse with adults than you."

"What…" Youngblood barely managed to gasp out, too wrapped in his despair to even look up at Dani.

"Danny and I call each other cousins, Youngblood, but the truth? I'm his clone."

That got Youngblood's attention. He finally lifted his gaze towards the two Phantoms and studied them more carefully with tearstained eyes. The more he stared, the more he realized that Dani really was a carbon copy of Danny in almost every way except for the age difference and, obviously, the gender difference. "I was created by that dick known as Plasmius," she continued. "I know he treated pretty much everyone except Skulker like crap, but when he created me he went completely off the deep end. I thought he cared. I thought he actually was going to be the dad I needed. I thought I was going to be his loving daughter, and that all I had to do was capture my cousin and bring him to my dad."

Her face contorted with fury. "But the truth? He was going to let me dissolve into a pile of ectoplasm while he got to make a _perfect clone_ of my cousin!" she spat bitterly, though everyone there knew none of her hate was directed at any of them. "He lied to me and he didn't care about me at all! I was just another pawn for his insane dream."

"Wow…I don't care how tougher he is than me, if I see that jerk Vlad around here I'm going to take him down!" Youngblood growled, anger burning away his sadness. "I didn't think anything could make me hate adults more than I already do, but you've just proved me wrong."

Dani realize that the kid ghost might be getting the wrong message. "It was only Vlad who treated me like crap," she interrupted. "Actually, I haven't met that many adults, but they're definitely not all bad! As soon as Frostbite learned I was a clone of _the Great One_…"

Danny facepalmed. "Again, Dani, PLEASE don't call me that…"

"Why not, it's hilarious!" Dani retorted smugly, and Youngblood couldn't suppress a small laugh at their bickering. She turned her attention back to Youngblood, though. "But yeah, Frostbite's been great. He wanted to make absolutely sure I properly completed my training, but I'm done now and he trusts me to be free and do what I want. And I don't really know if Jazz counts as an adult, but she is so awesome!"

"Phantom's stuck-up big sister? What's so cool about her?"

"Stuck-up? What are you talking about? She's so much fun!" Dani protested. "She's taught me a lot of cool stuff, both how to use Fenton weapons and how to play video games! I couldn't ask for a better cousin!"

Danny laughed. "I'm pretty sure the only reason why she didn't leap out of the Specter Speeder to try and hug you was because everyone was distracted with me and Frostbite. That and the fact that, funnily enough, the Far Frozen is kinda cold."

Youngblood rolled his eyes. "Geez, Phantom, I never woulda guessed. Still, last time I saw your sister all she was trying to do was yell at you to _grow up_." He put the term in air quotes.

"And then after you told her about your secret all she was trying to do was help," Dani added. She suddenly grinned. "And fail hilariously, from what I've heard from Tucker."

"I need to have a little talk with our esteemed mayor," Danny growled. Dani laughed at his flustered expression.

"Point is, Youngblood," Dani continued. "Yeah, we've had crap experiences with adults in the past, but who's to say you can't have good ones to with new friends or people you trust, adult or not? Danny's got Clockwork and his parents, we've both got Frostbite and Jazz, and if you give up on evil plans that are only going to get squashed anyway, you can have us too."

"I can believe that about you," Youngblood cast a doubtful glance at the older Phantom, "but why would you hang out with me after all the craziness I put you, your family, and your town through?"

Danny only raised an eyebrow in response. "Weren't you even listening to Jazz last night? Hello? The whole point behind the Fenton database and making my realm for the whole GZ?" He smirked. "I know you don't like maturity, Youngblood, but you've really gotta start paying attention more to what we say."

The kid ghost let out a weak laugh. "Yeah, I kinda do, don't I?" he admitted with a sheepish grin. "So I can really hang around here with you guys while you're around?"

"Come right in, door's wide open!" was all Danny said in response as he gestured at the mansion entrance. Dani and Youngblood shared excited looks and raced into the building, Danny following close behind as Wulf went back to resuming his patrol. It wasn't anything Danny had asked him to do; heck, his friend had made a bedroom specifically for him. But the hero had all but repaired Wulf's afterlife after his own crime and Walker had smashed it to pieces, and guarding his friend's territory was the LEAST he could do.

Inside the mansion, Dani and Youngblood were marveling at the pictures and statues of Danny's family and friends, both ghost and human. "You'll find the game room once you go down that hall, make a left and go down into the basement," Danny pointed at one of the double doors. "Sam and Tucker, Jazz, Ember, Johnny, Kitty, they're all down there already." He gave them a sly grin. "Give them a nice surprise!"

Dani and Youngblood rushed down the hallway, leaving behind only a puff of smoke. Danny waited until they were gone before turning to an empty spot that wasn't yet occupied by a statue. Smiling, he lifted his hand and pointed it at the location, concentrating for a few moments as he manipulated the ectoplasm to his will. When he was done, a statue of Youngblood in his pirate costume, a mischievous grin on his face, had joined the rest of the artwork in the lobby.

"I'm gonna have a lot of updating to do on the Fenton database," he thought as he turned to rejoin his old and new friends, "and I'll be glad for every minute of it."

/

And just like that, Youngblood has officially joined Danny's circle of ghost friends! I do like the Dani x Youngblood pairing, but the way I wrote it in this fic made it so that they could bond without necessarily enforcing a pairing. Dani can definitely understand why Youngblood hates adults so much, after all, her "dad" was one of the worst of them all!

I wanted to give Danny a unique way of paying homage to his new friendships beyond a simple "FRIEND" label in the Fenton database. It's also his way of saying thank you to his friends and family who stuck by him for so long, even after (and especially when) discovering that he was half-ghost.

I do want to go a little bit into the relationship between Dan Phantom and Clockwork. If the Master of Time merely kept Phantom as a prisoner under house arrest, then they'd eventually drive each other crazy until Dan decided to stop caring and Clockwork would have to blast him into oblivion permanently, something he's against doing even to a monster like Dan unless it's an absolute last resort. So although the two of them hate each other for obvious reasons, Clockwork is willing to make an arrangement with Dan that allows him some small concessions, although they both know full well that the Master of Time is the one holding all of the cards. The Observants piss both of them off, for example, so Clockwork doesn't stop Dan at all from insulting them and even lets him fling them out of his tower once they're done.

More seriously, Clockwork knows how much Dan loves violence, so he allows Dan to "take care" of dangerous and evil ghost criminals (who unlike Dan, Clockwork has no direct hold over) that would be very difficult for most ghosts to take down, but would be easy for Dan to unleash his wrath on. Dan is unquestionably one of the most powerful ghosts in the entire series, and Clockwork's managed to find a way that could harness that power for a very, VERY loose definition of "good." The Master of Time is very careful to choose criminals that, in Dan's own twisted perspective, are even worse than he is and would offend Dan's sense of honor, however miniscule it might be. He also knows that while Danny might be willing to show mercy and that could be exploited as a potential weakness, Dan Phantom has no such problems with restraint beyond "you can't flat-out destroy him."

Anyway, this chapter was a doozy to write and I hope you enjoyed it! And if there are any of you who think that Clockwork's starting to become OOC with his ruthlessness, fear not, because I will be bringing back the compassionate side we all know and love very soon. Read and review please!


	10. Chapter 10 - A Secret Exposed

A/N: Not much to say here, let's get going!

Note: I'm going to use one disclaimer to fit all. I do NOT own any songs that are used in this fic. And that includes the one used below.

Chapter 10 – A Secret Exposed

_The DP Mansion_

"Come on, Ember, roll that three!" Danny shouted as the ghost diva snapped the remote forward. On the TV screen, Koopa jumped up and hit the block, everyone watching tensely as the block slowed and revealed a…

"DAMMIT!" she yelled. "A one! Now instead of getting the jackpot I end up on a freaking BOWSER space!" Ember glared at Shadow. "I blame you!" she snarled as Shadow nervously backed away with hands in the air, his expression clearly screaming "Don't look at me!"

"Tough lucky, Em," Kitty smirked. "Now let's see what he has to say!" When Danny had proposed a round of Mario Party 9 on his new TV, she and Ember had all but leaped at the proposition, followed shortly after by Tucker and Youngblood. The rest of them were watching the contest unfurl from the couches that Danny had organized in front of the TV. As the standings currently displayed, Kitty was in first with 58 stars, Youngblood was in second with 53, Tucker was in third with 44, and Ember brought up the rear with 40.

Everyone watched as Koopa walked up to the Bowser space. The familiar Bowser icon flashed and the screen darkened before shattering apart, revealing the villain himself in all of his glory.

"Yeah, yeah, we know how this goes," Sam rolled her eyes as Bowser gloated in the screen. "Bowser acts like a jerk and then he shows that stupid wheel."

"All right, what do we have here?" Jazz looked at the wheel's options. "Give 10 stars to last place, Everybody loses special dice blocks, Reverse minigame, and lose half your mini stars."

"Great," Ember rolled her eyes, "nothing that can help me get past Kitty. Oh well, it's not like my luck was any better all day. Here goes nothing," she flipped the remote and watched as it slowed for several moments before finally stopping at…Lose half your mini stars.

"OH THAT'S JUST GREAT!" she screamed, eyes flashing red and hair blazing. "OF COURSE I LAND ON THE WORST ONE OF THEM ALL!""

"Hold on, Em!" Danny interrupted. "Maybe it's not over yet! Bowser's generally nice to people in last place, just play it out!"

Neither of them quite knew why, but apparently Danny's words were enough to calm the ghost rocker down. "All right, baby pop," she sighed as she continued the dialogue on the screen.

"_Huh!?" _Bowser asked on the screen. _"You're in last place, aren't you? Here! I'll __**double **__your mini stars! Don't say I never did anything for you!"_

The entire group's eyes bulged and jaws hit the floor as forty mini stars trickled from the top of the screen down onto a rejoicing Koopa, along with a bright blue +40 indicator. If there was any doubt that Ember's luck had suddenly skyrocketed, it was immediately dispelled by the golden 1st place indicator that was now right next to her character's face.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT?" It was now Kitty's turn to scream, so loudly that Plasmius probably could have heard it all the way in outer space. "WHAT THE HELL? WHAT IN THE FRIGGING HELL? I WAS FIRST! I WAS FREAKING FIRST!"

"What's that, Kitty?" Ember yelled in victory as she pumped her fist in the air. "Who's at the top of the charts now? That's right, it's me! Ember Mclain! Say my name, cuz I just swooped outta nowhere and took all of the glory!" She whirled around to Danny and the two of them grinned as they exchanged a high five.

Tucker sighed as he realized that now he was dead last. "Oh well," he muttered, "it's not like I ever win these anyway." He flipped the remote, then suddenly realized something. "Hey, wait a minute!" he pointed at Danny. "Why are you rooting for Ember of all people? We're best friends, man! No, not just friends, bros! You're supposed to be cheering me on, man!"

Danny shrugged. "Cuz everyone else already has people getting their back. Kitty's got Johnny, Youngblood's got Dani, you already have Sam AND Jazz, so I'm cheering for Ember. That a problem?"

"Nope!" Tucker said quickly, but Danny could have sworn that Johnny and Kitty had all shared the briefest of glances for the smallest of seconds. However, the arrival of Bowser himself as the final boss interrupted his train of thought. One battle later and one award ceremony later, the game ended with Koopa and Ember as the victors of the round.

"And that's how the rock star of the Ghost Zone takes care of business!" Ember declared as Tucker turned off the game console.

"Yeah, yeah, nobody likes a bragger," Kitty muttered. "So what do we do now?"

Danny thought for a moment. "Well, I got a call from mom and dad a few minutes ago, they said the portal's up and running." He chuckled. "I guess they've gotten smarter about that thing, it used to be that they left that thing open all the time 24/7. And people wondered why Amity was so haunted!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sam realized something. "Couldn't Wulf just open up a portal back to Fentonworks? I mean, you're pretty much his master for all intents and purposes!"

Everyone instantly stared at Danny, who all but facepalmed at the realization. "Wow…" he muttered, "no wonder I'm a C student. God I'm stupid…"

"Nah," Sam shrugged. "It wasn't like I was planning on leaving or anything, it was just something I wanted to point out."

Danny sighed. "As much as I want to keep playing around here with you guys, I actually do have a couple of important things I needed to do alone soon. He glanced over at Tucker, Sam, and Jazz. "Will you guys be okay getting back home by yourselves?"

"Yeah, man, with the Specter Speeder's new navigation system, we'll be just fine," Tucker nonchalantly replied.

"Be careful, little bro," Jazz hugged her brother. She'd learned from firsthand experience when Danny needed her and when he could handle things just fine by himself.

The group of friends climbed up the basement stairs and walked out of the mansion together. "If I'm around, you guys, feel free to drop by!" he offered with a grin.

"Will do, little man!" Johnny replied as he and Kitty got on their bike.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, dipstick, but I think I'm gonna enjoy hanging around with you," Ember added with a smirk. "When you finish up the place I bet you're gonna go from the GZ's most wanted to its biggest celebrity."

"So long as that means less ghost attacks on my city, then that's fine by me!"

Johnny and Kitty declared their good-byes as they rode off, while Ember teleported away in a swirl of blue flames.

"See ya around, Dani?" Youngblood asked her with what he hoped was an endearing smile.

"Yep!" she cheerfully replied. The kid ghost grinned as he too floated off.

"This was a really fun afternoon, Danny!" Sam said to her former boyfriend with a smile. "Thanks for the reception!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Danny replied as he gave his friends and sister one last hug. The three of them climbed aboard the Specter Speeder as Wulf tore open a portal to the real world large enough for them to fly through, one that would land them just outside Fenton Works.

"All right," the halfa thought as he climbed into his Ecto-Skeleton. "Time to take care of some business for Walker!"

_Fenton Works_

Jazz parked the Specter Speeder in the garage as she, Tucker, and Sam climbed out and raced towards the entrance to Fenton Works. Jazz rang the doorbell, and seconds later the door swung open.

"Jazzy!" Jack greeted them as he realized who was at the door. "You're home early!" He suddenly noticed the lack of his other child. "Uh…what happened to Danny?"

Jazz looked uncomfortably at him. "He's…still in the Ghost Zone," she admitted. "He told us he had some important errands to run, or something like that."

Jack sighed and rubbed his head with his hands. "If I didn't know for a fact that he's been taking care of himself for years," he muttered in an uncharacteristically serious tone, "I wouldn't let Danny go anywhere near that place, at least not without me or you guys around…"

"He fights ghosts better than you do, dad," Jazz smirked. Jack couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"He does, doesn't he? Certainly aims better than his old man." He sighed again. "Maddie won't be happy."

"Why not?" Sam asked. "I thought you guys didn't mind Danny hanging out in the Ghost Zone ever since you found out about his secret?"

"We don't," Jack clarified solemnly. "But the thing is…Maddie's started to feel distant from our son again lately. It's something she's felt before, but after she and Danny took that trip of theirs she felt that maybe they were finally reconnecting. Now Danny's in the Ghost Zone all the time and she feels like any connection they had is slipping away all over again."

Tucker gave him a look of sympathy. "Dude, Mr. Fenton, why don't you just talk to him about it? You guys got over his biggest secret without a hitch, with that outta the way I can't think of anything that can stop you from bonding, man!"

Jack smiled at his son's best friend. "Maybe you're right, Tucker, maybe you're right. I think it's time to arrange a Fenton family meeting tonight once Danny gets home."

_The Ghost Zone, Walker's Prison_

Danny flew up to the entrance to the no-longer hostile prison, thermos in hand with five more criminals ready to serve up for Walker. As he drew level with the prison doors, they suddenly slammed open, revealing the one ghost that Danny had hoped never to see.

"Dan Phantom!" the halfa snarled, all friendliness evaporating in an instant.

Dan all but yawned at the sight of his past self. "Well, if it isn't my own blast from the past," he retorted in a bored tone.

"What are YOU doing at Walker's prison?" Danny growled, ready to fire an ecto-energy attack if Dan even came near him.

The Dark Phantom grinned. "The very same thing that you are, as a matter of fact. I used to think Clockwork was nothing but a meddling old fool, but to his credit he's actually found a way to utilize my power in a way that satisfies both of us."

"You mean you're catching criminals like I am?" Danny asked incredulously. "It's not like any of them can be any worse than you've been!"

"Ha ha ha! That's the beauty of it!" Dan was now outright laughing. "As incredible as it may seem to your feeble teenage mind, the criminals I've been hunting down have managed to be even worse than me in their own way! Don't believe me? Go ahead and ask Clockwork or even Walker exactly what their crimes are, and you'll learn all too well that there are worse monsters than me in the world that exist here and now, parasites that I've enjoyed squashing like flies!"

"You're sick," Danny spat as Dan flew away laughing, back towards Clockwork's tower. The halfa shook his head exasperatedly as he entered the prison in his Ecto-Skeleton. Normally he would have taken it off before going in, but he wasn't about to leave it around for Dan to steal, even if the evil ghost would only get zapped as a punishment for trying to use it.

Inside the prison, Walker was already waiting for him. "I see you've caught some more punks to lock up in my jail," he greeted the hero. The two of them, along with several guards, went through the same process of locking up the criminals and making sure that their names checked out on the wanted list. Walker was seemingly lost in thought and in a grim mood, saying very little throughout the entire process.

"What happened to the criminals Dan brought in?" Danny asked.

"You don't wanna know, kid," one of the guards replied for him. "You don't wanna know."

As he and Walker walked back towards the entrance to the jail, he suddenly stopped the half by putting a hand on his shoulder. "By the way, punk, I think I've got an idea on helping you out on your little bar idea of yours. Keep doing what you're doing and I'll make sure you get your due."

"Sounds good," Danny agreed. He reached the Ecto-Skeleton's hand out to push the door open, only to have it bump into somebody already on the other side.

"Gah!" Spectra yelped as she maneuvered around the door into the prison. "Watch it!"

"Sorry," Danny mumbled. He suddenly shook his head as he realized who he was talking to. "SPECTRA?" he spluttered. "What are YOU doing here?"

Spectra's shocked expression disappeared and was replaced with a disturbingly eager look. "Feasting on the misery of this prison, of course," she explained in a hungry tone. "For some reason, there's been a tremendous amount of agony and pain all but oozing from Walker's jail lately, just the kind of misery that I need!" Spectra licked her lips. "Forget angst-ridden teens and high school brats, I'll be able to keep myself young off of the pain here for years without even needing to lift a finger!"

"It's official," Danny thought as he obeyed his sudden urge to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. "I REALLY don't want to know what Dan did to the criminals he caught!"

_Fenton Works_

Maddie sighed as she looked at the picture of her and a younger Danny hugging together happily in the park. "What happened to the bond I had with Danny?" she lamented as she reminisced sadly on the good times of the past. "A few years ago he wouldn't have hidden anything from me."

She knew only too well why he had kept his secret as Phantom for so long. Who wouldn't if their own parents were boasting every morning about trying to hunt and kill them on a regular basis? It was a miracle that Danny hadn't decided to just run away from it all and, as she later found out, accepted Vlad's offer to be his son instead of theirs. It truly was sad to think that her own son didn't feel safe with his family because of their intolerant attitude.

The first thing that she'd done after the Disasteroid event was to beg for her son's forgiveness, tears flowing and head bent in shame. Of course Danny had forgiven her, she was his family and it wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge against anyone. But Danny forgiving her was one thing, forgiving herself was another matter entirely. Maddie firmly believed in the philosophy that being honest with oneself was the best way to be happy, and she knew that the only way she could ever forgive herself for hunting her own son was if she went out of her way to make sure that Danny was in a fully supportive and loving family who would not only accept his ghost half, but also help and serve alongside him as his partners and his protectors.

She and Jack had both given their all to make this goal a reality. They'd spent hours dismantling every single Fenton weapon and security system, before rebuilding them so that they not only recognized and ignored Danny's unique ecto-signature, but also did less damage than before to ghosts in general. Maddie could still remember the grateful look on Danny's face knowing that their weapons could still bring on pain, but were no longer capable of destroying ghosts outright except to a prolonged, concentrated attack.

Once Fenton Works had been converted from a hostile environment to a friendly one for Danny, they'd then started developing technology and ecto-products that would directly help Danny in his mission to protect Amity Park. The new and improved Ecto-Skeleton, free of any deadly neural glitches, the Ecto-Amplifier packets that they had produced with a sample of his core ectoplasm, and the stronger and more durable Fenton Thermos had been their greatest developments in this regard, none of which could ever be used against him because of just how carefully they had been designed. But even this was spreading the rift between them in its own way. After all, it had been her experiment this very afternoon that had stopped her and Jack from hanging out with Danny like a proper family should.

"Maddie?" a booming voice called out her name. She looked up to see her loving husband's massive frame shadowing the doorway to their bedroom, concern in his eyes. "You're worried about bonding with Danny again, aren't ya?"

Maddie nodded wordlessly as her husband draped an arm over her shoulder. "Y'know Mads, I think it's probably for the best if we just talk with Danny later tonight, eh? After all, we agreed on no more secrets among us. Right?"

"Right…" she sighed. "I'm still trying to think about how we can help Danny out besides just making more stuff in our lab for him."

Jack shrugged. "Well, it's not like he's helpless on his own, Mads. He's proved that for years. Ever since that accident with the portal, that ghost half of his has really helped him step up to the challenges of the real world!"

Maddie's eyes widened. "Wait a minute…say that again!"

"Uh…." Her husband looked puzzled. "The accident with the portal?"

"No, no, not that! The part after that!"

"Uh…ghost…half?"

"THAT'S IT!" Maddie shouted excitedly. "I know exactly what to do now! Thanks, Jack!" she kissed her husband fervently in the lips before rushing out of the room, all but whooping with joy.

Jack stared after her for several moments, before grinning himself. "Jack, you brilliant man, you've done it again! This calls for some celebratory homemade fudge! Lots and lots of fudge!"

_The DP Mansion_

"Hi, Danny!" Dani called out as she saw her cousin return from his errands. "Are you done for the day?"

"Yep!" Danny replied as he landed the Ecto-Skeleton suit in front of the DP Mansion. He signaled for Wulf to send the Ecto-Skeleton back to Fenton Works through a portal, before turning his attention over to Dani. "Are you fine staying here for now until you've got a place to go to, Danielle?"

She laughed. "In this awesome mansion? Heck, I wouldn't mind staying here forever!" She suddenly realized something and gave Danny a confused glance. "So why haven't you left for home yet? Didn't your parents say the portal was open again?"

"I'll be going home soon," Danny explained. "I just wanted to take a break and show you a little something first."

The two Phantoms floated into the mansion and locked the door behind them, before making their way up to Danny's room. "I've got a secret that pretty much nobody outside my family knows about. Sam and Tucker know, obviously, but with all the ghost hunting stuff it kinda took a backseat to more important stuff," Danny explained as he opened up the closet. He reached in and, to Dani's amazement, pulled out an electric guitar. The guitar itself was colored pitch black, with a white interior and bright green flames rising from the bottom.

"You play guitar?" Dani asked excitedly.

"Yep!" Danny grinned. "I used to do this all the time before I got my ghost powers. Then high school and ghost attacks started and you don't exactly have much time to do a lot of practicing when you have to save the world on a regular basis. I made this earlier when our friends were waiting for me to finish the mansion and when nobody was looking. Do you want me to play you something?"

"YES!" his cousin all but squealed. Danny nodded and began to sing.

_They see you as small and helpless,__  
__They see you as just a child.__  
__Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild._

_Prepare for your greatest moments,__  
__Prepare for your finest hour.__  
__The dream that you've always dreamed is__  
__Suddenly about to flower._

_We are lightning.__  
__Straying from the thunder,__  
__Miracles of ancient wonder_

_This will be the day we've waited for!__  
__This will be the day we open up the door.__  
__I don't wanna hear your absolution,__  
__Hope you're ready for a revolution.__  
__Welcome to a world of new solutions.__  
__Welcome to a world of bloody evolution,__  
__In time…your heart will open minds,__  
__A story will be told__,__  
__And victory is in a simple soul._

_Your world needs a great defender,__  
__Your world's in the way of harm.__  
__You want a romantic life, a fairytale that's full of charm._

_Beware that the light is fading,__  
__Beware as the dark returns__  
__This world's unforgiving,__  
__even brilliant lights will cease to burn._

_Legends…scatter…__  
__Day and night will sever!__  
__Hope and peace are lost forever!_

_This will be the day we've waited for!__  
__This will be the day we open up the door.__  
__I don't wanna hear your absolution,__  
__Hope you're ready for a revolution.__  
__Welcome to a world of new solutions__.__  
__Welcome to a world of bloody evolution,__  
__In time…your heart will open minds,__  
__A story will be told,__  
__And victory is in a simple soul!_

Danny ended the song with a bow as he finished off the last few lines. Dani was staring at him open-mouthed and speechless, completely blown away.

"Uh, Dani? You there? Earth to Dani?"

Danny was about to think that maybe his singing was maybe just as bad as Tucker's or Jazz's, but then he realized that Dani wasn't ACTUALLY staring at him. The young halfa finally gathered enough of her thoughts together to lift her finger and point at the window behind Danny. He turned his eyes towards the direction she was pointing….and froze.

Ember was staring back at them through the open window, wearing an expression that was even more shocked than Dani's. "What the hell?" Danny thought, his mind completely scrambled. "Ember heard every word, didn't she? Why the heck was she even here to begin with?"

Ember, in the meanwhile, was still trying to get over the shock of seeing her new friend play and sing with a level of skill rivaling that of a rock star. She'd heard how much his geek friend and sister sucked hard at singing, so in the back of her mind she'd always assumed that Danny wouldn't be any better. An assumption that, in the course of a few seconds, Phantom had blasted completely into oblivion.

"Busted…" Dani whispered, giggling nervously despite the awkward situation.

"Uh…"

Ember's eyes narrowed. "You've got some explaining to do…_baby pop_."

/

I know it's been a while since his death, but RIP Monty Oum. I haven't seen all of RWBY but I like the show a lot from what I've seen.

This probably goes without saying, but "This Will Be the Day" belongs to Rooster Teeth and Jeff Williams. (Yes, I know the song was technically sung by a female singer, but since when has that stopped anybody?)

And it looks like Ember's just found out Danny's Rocker secret! As Dani so eloquently put it, BUSTED!

Read and review please!


	11. Chapter 11 - Bonding

A/N: So what's gonna happen now that Ember has discovered Danny's secret? Time to find out!

Quick note: Danny's parents have met Clockwork before, once at the start of the summer a few weeks before the story began. So they know who he is and trust him as a friend and mentor to Danny, though he is pretty much the only ghost apart from Danny that they are openly friendly towards.

Chapter 11 – Bonding

Since it would have been rude to leave Ember floating around in the open GZ, Danny told her to go around and wait for him to open the door to the mansion. A few minutes later, all of them were sitting around in the mansion's living room as Danny mindlessly strummed a few notes on his guitar, which Ember was marveling over.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, dipstick…" she whistled, "that is one sexy guitar! Gotta give you cred for the style!" Her gaze hardened into a glare. "So start talking. When did you suddenly get so good at the guitar and why the hell did you never tell me anything about this?"

Danny held up a hand. "Okay, first off, it's not like I didn't have a good reason for not telling you, Ember. In case you've forgotten, we were enemies up until last night. And only an idiot would blab a secret to an enemy. Besides," he added, "I distinctly seem to remember a certain rock star yelling a certain something at me during a certain attempt at world domination. What was that again?" he pretended to think. "Oh, right! _Get this shrink, dipstick! I don't do duets!_"He folded his arms. "So, yeah, suddenly it's not all that surprising why I never told you now, is it?"

Ember cursed inwardly as she realized her own words were being used against her, especially since she had to admit Danny had a point. "Well, we're not enemies anymore, baby pop. So let's start clearing the secrets outta the way, okay?"

Danny shrugged. "Fine by me. I picked the guitar up when I was in 7th grade in middle school. Dash was still being a jerk even all the way back then and I wouldn't have put it past him to break my guitar for a laugh, so it was something I kept secret from everybody except my two closest friends and, obviously, my family. Before I had my dream of becoming an astronaut, I actually played around with the idea of being a rock star. I was actually going to go somewhere with the idea too in high school, but…"

"It was your accident with the portal," Dani interrupted, suddenly realizing where this was going. "Wasn't it?"

"Got it in one, Danielle," he sighed. "As soon as I got zapped and became half-ghost, there was no way I could practice anymore. Stupid thing kept slipping out of my hands because I kept randomly phasing in and out of intangibility."

"And that's all it took to kill your dream, dipstick?" Ember asked incredulously. "I always thought you were a lot of things back when I hated your guts, but even then I never took you to be a quitter!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Tch, that was the least of my problems. In between all the ghost attacks, trying to keep up with not failing out of high school, and finding a bigger dream of being an astronaut, there was no way in hell I could keep this rock star idea alive." He conjured up an exact duplicate of his electric guitar. "I had to give up something, so…" he threw the guitar duplicate out in front of him and blasted it with an ecto-ray, obliterating it entirely. Ember flinched visibly and instinctively reached out towards where Danny had destroyed the duplicate, but quickly retracted her hand with visible embarrassment when she realized what she was doing.

"So much for that," he finished with a bitter laugh. "Of course, thanks to the time I need to put in ghost fighting, my dream of being an astronaut's pretty much dead because my grades suck. I'm the hero of the world and yet both my dreams got screwed over because of it."

"That's not fair!" Dani protested. "You've done so much for everyone else, if anybody deserves their dreams it's you, Danny!"

Ember nodded. "Gotta agree with the little dipper here, dipstick, as a musician this doesn't sit right with me."

"Well," Danny replied wryly, "I haven't practiced or even played a song in years, and it's a bit late to start now. As far as I know this dream has gone straight down the trash chute."

"What?! Heck no, dipstick!" his new friend retorted. "No practice in years and you still sing and play like that? That just tells me the moment you get to work on that guitar properly you're gonna be making sparks fly on the stage in less than a month!"

"But…"

Ember wasn't finished. "Don't tell me you don't have the time to make this dream come true, dipstick. That excuse might have worked during school time, but this is the summer. Unless your parents have some big-shot vacation planned out, baby pop, you've got all the time in the world to get started. Especially since everyone's too scared of pissing off the big shots to mess with you beyond the same old crap."

"Big shots?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.

She smirked. "You didn't know, baby pop? You've done some good for yourself getting Frostbite, Pandora, Dora, and Walker in your corner. Heck, the Observants might not give a crap about you personally, but even they've got a vested interest in keeping you alive and running instead of trying to take you down. But none of them even come closer to the Old Timer. Signing up under Clockwork was one of the smartest moves you could have made, and you probably didn't even know how big of a deal it actually is! I mean, who'd want to mess with a fucking Primordial's student, for fuck's sake?"

"Primordials? What are they?"

"You can look it up in the Ghost Writer's library later, baby pop. But bottom line, if you somehow get on their bad side, you might as well throw yourself in the middle of a fight between a full-powered Pariah Dark and Dan Phantom without Clockwork keeping him on a leash. They'll end you a lot more quickly and a lot less messily.

Danny and Dani both shuddered at the unpleasant images that brought up, though Ember didn't seem to notice. "But yeah," she steered the subject back towards Danny's talent, "for the first time in I don't know how long, you actually have a chance to make one of your dreams come true." She glared at Danny, but the glare seemed to contain a challenge and an expectation rather than hostility, "Are you gonna take that chance or are you just gonna blow it off, dipstick?"

"It's not that easy," Dani interjected. "Sure, Danny can practice and can make a big name for himself once high school comes around again. Heck, he's pretty much Mr. Popularity already. But you do realize that he's gonna have to deal with a lot of work if he wants to go beyond that. Especially throwing in school and ghost fighting and all of that crap."

Ember smirked. "That's the easy part." She pointed a finger at Danny. "Tell you what, baby pop. If you actually decide to start rocking it up like a real man and you really impress me, I'll let you join my band part-time. Heck, I might even sing a duet with you once in a while."

Danny's jaw dropped. "But, didn't you say…"

"Forget what I said, dipstick," the ghost diva snorted. "That was part of the whole witty banter crap that happens every time you have a ghost fight with somebody that isn't a dumb animal. Besides," she added with a grin, "you do realize just how much publicity I'd get if _Danny Phantom_ played with me on my stage? My ratings would blast off so high that even your sister and friend combined wouldn't be able to bring them down with their collective cat screeching."

The halfa wanted to argue on behalf of Tucker and Jazz, but…yeah, he couldn't deny that they really were that bad. "No mind control involved, right?"

Ember smirked. "Pffttt…wouldn't even need it, your publicity would do all the work for me."

"And that's another thing I've been thinking about for a while," Danny continued on. "Why do you even bother with the whole mind control thing in the first place? It's not like you need it."

"Hah," she scoffed. "You don't know nearly enough about me to make that call, dipstick."

"I know more than you think." The reply was surprisingly quiet and intense.

Ember's confidence faltered. "What?"

"You saw what I wrote about you in the database, Jazz showed it to you," Danny pressed on. "I don't know what your life was like in the past, Ember, but based on what I've heard from your lyrics something tells me it wasn't all fluffy bunnies and rainbows for you. And then there was what you yelled at me yesterday about nobody being around to care about you or support you when you were alive. I know you're not just another generic evil ghost, Em, otherwise I would have smashed your guitar to pieces last night when I started raging and I probably wouldn't have regretted it one bit."

Ember's smile faded as she felt the same urge she remembered from last night. The urge to tell Danny everything about her past and her shitty excuse for a life. But like every ghost's origin story, this was her most well-hidden secret, known only by her closest friends.

"Baby pop…" she muttered. "As much as I want to tell you the full story, I've had a lot of crappy experiences with guys. And I do want to trust you, Danny, but not yet. Not with a secret that I trust only Kitty and Spectra with."

"Spectra?" Danny asked incredulously. "You honestly trust her? Do you even know what she's done and what kind of ghost she is?"

"Look, dipstick, you've only ever seen her at her worst, okay? If you can get past the fact that she feeds on misery for her obsession she isn't as bad of a person as you think."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Well, Clockwork's been sending Dan out to catch ghost criminals for Walker's prison, and I don't even want to know how many levels of pain my evil me's pummeled into them. And I saw Spectra there earlier today, she said there wasn't a greater place for devouring misery and despair then at that jail. We'll see whether there's anything more to her beyond being a sadistic witch."

Ember sighed. "Just do what you've been doing and keep giving everyone a chance, baby pop. You're doing good so far." She suddenly smirked. "And keep playing that guitar, baby pop, you've got the music on your fingerprints and I don't say that to everybody."

"Hey wait a minute!" Dani interrupted. "I'm a clone of Danny, maybe I know how to play guitar too!" She swiped Danny's guitar from his hands and placed her hand in front of the strings. "A one, a two, a one, two, three, four!"

_Cut to Danny's Island, Outside_

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

_Danny's Living Room_

"Uh…" Ember muttered, "no offense, little dipper, but you've just scientifically proved that musical skill isn't hereditary."

"Figures," Dani grouched, even while Danny tried and failed to keep himself from falling apart in laughter. His position on the couch made him catch a look at the clock.

"AH, CRUD!" he exclaimed, "it's almost dinner time! My parents are going to kill me!" He hastily rushed up the stairs and placed his guitar in his closet before coming back down. "Sorry guys, I have to hit the road! You'll be all right here, Dani?"

"Yep!" she cheerfully replied.

"No touching my guitar though," Danny warned, "I don't want Walker locking you up for noise pollution."

"This is revenge for calling you Great One, isn't it?" Dani whined as Ember laughed at her flustered young friend.

Danny winked at her and smirked before turning to Ember. "I don't really care what you do, Ember. You wanna stick around the mansion, I don't mind, Wulf knows you're not an enemy."

Ember shook her head. "Much as I love the place, baby pop, I promised Kitty a Girls' Night Out tonight."

"You're not gonna plan on making all the men in Amity Park disappear again, are you?" Danny deadpanned. He'd heard about that from Sam and Jazz soon after he and his dad had come back from their fishing trip.

"Nah," she replied nonchalantly. "That'd mean I might end up making you disappear, Danny, and no way I'd do anything to miss out on your sexy guitaring skills."

Danny's mind suddenly put on the brakes as it tried to process Ember say the word sexy in reference to him, even if she was only talking about his guitar. "Uh…uh…uh…bye!" he hastily spluttered as he sped off toward the front door. Ember and Dani both laughed as they saw him flee.

"And you guys were enemies once?" Dani asked skeptically once Danny was gone. "That almost sounded like you were flirting with him!"

"Maybe," Ember replied drolly, "or maybe I just like messing with the baby-pop. Even after dating the goth girl he still has no clue how women work, does he?"

"Can you name a guy who does?" Dani replied, and they both laughed again.

_The Fenton Works Portal_

"Mom? Dad?" Danny called as he approached the now functional Fenton portal. "I'm home!"

Surprisingly, only Maddie was in the lab this time. She looked up, visibly relieved to see her son at the portal entrance. "Danny!" she exclaimed. "Good, you're here! We can start our family meeting now!" She rushed over to the portal entrance and closed it shut.

"Family…meeting?" Danny repeated in a clearly confused tone as he followed his mom up the stairs. Once they reached the living room, he could see Jazz and his dad already sitting at the couch. Clearly they'd been waiting for him to show up.

"All righty then!" Jack declared. "Let the Fenton family meeting officially begin!"

Maddie nodded in agreement and turned to her son. "Danny…" she began, "I'll save us all some time and just get right down to it. Lately your father and I have been feeling that we haven't done enough to support, connect with, and help you as your parents."

"What?" Danny interrupted incredulously with a nervous laugh. "Are you kidding me? You guys have been great! You've accepted me being half-ghost with open arms, made sure the house was safe for me to live in, and made so much cool stuff for me to use for ghost-fighting! I literally couldn't ask for more!"

"But here's the problem, Danny," Maddie continued, her hopes only slightly raised by his enthusiastic response. "Even though we've been making breakthrough inventions to help you fight ghosts, in the end all of that burden lies entirely on you. All Jack and I ever do is build things and help you from the sidelines, and as parents responsible for your safety I feel that we need to take a more direct approach in helping you with ghost fighting."

Danny wasn't sure what to make of his mom's statement. "Uh…you seem to do a pretty good job based on what I've seen," he offered lamely.

"Son," Jack decided to pick up now. "Your mother and I have decided that from now on we're going to start Fenton family training sessions at least three times a week every day for the rest of the summer. It'll be just you, me, Maddie, and Jazz. Unless we can find a place to train safely in the town, we'll be driving out to Lake Eerie in the mornings to avoid causing potential property damage. I betcha one Fenton Thermos that your mayor friend Tucker won't be very happy about a trashed park or football field."

"Uh, dad?" Danny interrupted. "It's not that I don't think that this is a bad idea. Actually, this could be great for all of us depending on what we're going to be doing. But, uh, did you forget that I train with Clockwork in the mornings? I don't think he's going to be happy about me skiving off..."

"Actually…" a familiar disembodied voice interrupted, "I have no issue with this whatsoever."

Everyone's eyes bulged as the Time Master teleported into the room in his familiar fashion.

"What the…how did you get in here?" Jazz exclaimed. "This house is covered with anti-ecto protection so strong that it can block ghostly teleportation!"

Clockwork merely raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, yeah, master of time and one of the most powerful ghosts of the GZ," she muttered, "forget I asked."

"Clockwork!" Danny greeted his mentor. "You're okay with me cutting out on our lessons for this?"

"But of course," he replied with a chuckle. "Keeping a strong connection and bond of love with your family is crucial for your happiness, Daniel. No matter how many powers or gifts I can give you, I cannot serve as a substitute for that."

Jack grinned at the Time Ghost. "Thanks for supporting my wife on this," he said gratefully. "It's something that's been gnawing at her mind for a while now."

"As it so happens your coming up with this idea is extremely convenient for me as well," Clockwork added. "A very important guest will be coming to my tower for the next few days. You will have the chance to meet her once I am ready to introduce her to you, but for now it will be necessary for me to cancel all training sessions for the remainder of the week."

"Wow," Danny whistled, "that's…really convenient, to say the least!"

"Needless to say," Clockwork warned, "I must request that you keep a respectable distance away from my tower for the rest of the week for this reason."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Maddie replied dismissively. "Our boy will either be training with us or working on his ghost realm, I bet! Not like there's anything else to do around here besides maybe hanging out at that water park every so often."

"I am glad to hear that," Clockwork agreed. "And now I must bid you all farewell, for I have important matters to attend to. Namely," his expression turned sour, "keeping a certain evil alternate reality occupied so that he doesn't irritate my guest to the point that she decides to banish him to Oblivion herself." He disappeared away before anybody had a chance to fully process what he'd just said.

Jazz finally decided to be the first one to speak. "So, uh…what do you have in mind, mom?"

"Oh, I still haven't come up with the details yet," Maddie replied. "But first I think I'm going to start training you and Danny in martial arts. I AM a ninth-degree Black Belt after all. Especially for Danny, if he can perform expert martial arts as a human just think about what he'll be able to accomplish in his ghost form!"

"What about dad?" Danny asked.

The three of them turned to look at Jack Fenton, who gave them a grumpy look. "Yeah, yeah…" he rolled his eyes, "I know I'm not exactly _martial arts material_," he accompanied the last phrase with air quotes. "Don't have to rub it in."

"We'll think of something for Jack later," Maddie decided. "In the meantime, dinner's ready!"

"Aww, yeah!" Danny whooped. "I am starving!"

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Thinking about food as always, little brother," she snarked as the family made their way into the dining hall. "At least mom's not using the Ecto-Cooker again…"

"One day it will work!" she declared as the rest of the family laughed.

_Later that night…_

"Don't forget to update the database before you go to bed, honey!" Maddie reminded Danny as they prepared to turn in for the night. "Wouldn't want to accidentally zap a ghost who's actually your friend, now would we?"

"Dad doesn't even remember to look at that database sometimes," Danny deadpanned, but even so he was looking forward to updating it. As he reached the Emergency Ops Center's computer, he opened up the database and found a new search bar had been added.

"Huh, convenient!" he thought as he typed in Johnny's, Kitty's, and Youngblood's names. With a content smile on his face, he changed the labels of their alignment from "NEUTRAL" to "FRIEND." He also updated Youngblood's profile to list what he'd declared to Danny during his confession.

"I'm so glad Tucker took the time to put in security in this thing," Danny thought. In order to make sure that the ghosts' secrets and profiles were being thoroughly protected, Danny had asked Tucker to spend a few days implementing extensive encryption and security measures to make sure that no information would ever leave the privacy of the Fenton household. If any outside source ever tried to hack into and steal the information, whether it be the Guys in White or Technus himself, all they'd get as a reward would be complete, unintelligible gibberish. And a possibly a free virus on the offending system thrown in as a bonus.

"All in a good day's work," Danny thought as he shut off the computer. "All in a good day's work."

/

Anybody have any thoughts on who Clockwork's special guest is?

Read and review please!


	12. Chapter 12 - A New Arrival

Chapter 12 – A New Arrival

_Fenton Works_

"You guys mentioned earlier something about a new experiment?" Danny asked as he and his family finished their dinner. "Something that caused the Ghost Portal to go haywire?"

Jack looked at Maddie, who nodded back. "Well, since you asked, Danny, we might as well go into the details now," she explained. "You see, Danny, our latest focus on Fenton machines has been focused on fighting ghosts on a more hand-to-hand physical combat kind of way. We have guns, bazookas, ecto-sticks, the Jack o' Nine Tails…but those are all hand-held weapons. If they get so much as knocked out of your hand, then…well, how well do you think humans can fight ghosts without an ecto-weapon?"

"Not very well would be my guess," Danny answered in a deadpan tone, Jazz nodding in agreement."

Jack got up from the table. "Maddie, I think it would be best to show them instead of telling them. So let's get down to the lab!" He bolted out of the door and raced down the lab faster than anybody could blink.

Danny stared after him. "How is it that I'm the one who can fly at over 200 miles per hour and yet he can somehow vanish out of thin air like that?" he asked nobody in particular.

"You know your father, Danny," Maddie sighed, "sometimes he has a bigger obsession with his gadgets than that of most ghosts."

"Tell me about it," Jazz agreed as they all followed him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Jack was already waiting for him, with two new metal gauntlets covering each of his hands.

"I present to you!" Jack proclaimed proudly as he held them about. "The all new Ghost Gauntlets!"

Danny instantly went pale and his face clouded with horror. Jack was the first to notice the disturbing change over his son. "Danny? You all right, m'boy?"

"Dad…" he breathed in a ragged whisper, "the Ghost Gauntlets…don't you remember? Vlad…he used them to…to…"

His normally comical and absentminded father instantly realized his mistake. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, son!" he hastily corrected. "These aren't THOSE Ghost Gauntlets. You know your mother and I wouldn't do a single thing that could even _possibly_ let that bad future of yours happen! No, no, no, this is something completely different! The only thing that's the same is the name, which…" he couldn't help a small chuckle, "I have to admit, I thought was pretty catchy." One glare from Maddie and his smile instantly faded. "But if you don't like it, Danny, won't be a problem at all to change it!"

But by now Danny had sufficiently recovered from his brief panic attack. "It's fine, dad!" he plastered a smile on his face, not wanting to worry his family further. "If it's something entirely different from Vlad's invention, dad, I don't care what you call it."

"Are you sure, son?" Jack gave Danny another concerned one-over.

"Positive."

"All right…" he nodded, deciding to let the matter rest. "Anyway, Danny, these gloves are the beginning of a new, state-of-the-art style of ghost fighting! What they do is simple, yet if we've done our jobs right, incredibly effective!" He held up one of the gauntlets. "Danny, I need you to fire an ecto-ray at me, it's the only way to properly test these."

Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Uh, dad?" she pointed out. "You might want to put on some protective gear, at this point even some of Danny's weaker ecto-rays are stronger than most ghosts'."

"Jazz is right," Maddie agreed, "no scientist should be conducting a potentially dangerous experiment without safety gear!"

Jack looked a bit grumpy at having the experiment delayed a tad, but he nodded and quickly erected a Fenton Peeler armor around himself without complaint. He picked up the Ghost Gauntlets and put them on his hands again. "Fire away!"

Danny lifted his hand and blasted an ecto-ray at his father. Jack lifted one of the Ghost Gauntlets and intercepted Danny's ray with it. To the Fenton children's shock, instead of exploding on contact, the Ghost Gauntlet seemed to suck in the attack, leaving no trace of the original ray behind. Only now, the Gauntlet was glowing with green energy that hadn't been there before.

"These Gauntlets can absorb attacks from ecto-attacks and store them as ghostly power," Maddie explained. "While they're charged, you can do two things with them." She lifted a remote and pressed a button. Suddenly, two steel walls rose up from the ground.

"The first thing you can do is blast the ecto-energy back at the original attacker," she signaled to Jack. He nodded and raised his hand, just like Danny had done. Instantly, a beam of ecto-energy stronger than the one Danny had fired blasted out of the Gauntlet's open palm, exploding into one of the steel walls and blasting it apart.

"Holy…" Danny breathed. "Did that just…"

"The Gauntlets can contain and amplify the power within them somewhat so long as it doesn't overwhelm their max capacity," Maddie continued where she had left off. "We didn't want to make it too dangerous since these are our first completed versions, but they can certainly take anything a ghost could throw at you and hurl it right back at them without a problem."

"That's not the only thing they can do!" Jack added, seemingly eager to show the second function. "Danny, fire another ecto-ray into the Gauntlets!" Danny did so, and soon enough the contraption was glowing with energy again.

"Watch this!" Jack declared. He walked up to another steel wall and began punching it repeatedly with the Gauntlet. Whatever Danny and Jazz had been anticipating, they certainly hadn't expected their father to dent a solid steel wall with one blow. Their shock only escalated as Jack punched the wall twice more, actually _folding it in_ on itself. "When I say these things pack quite a punch, boy do they pack quite a punch!"

"That's…that is so cool!" Danny exclaimed. "It can't be disarmed so easily AND it works for both close combat and ranged? This has gotta be one of your best inventions yet!"

"Hold your horses, Danny," Jazz berated him. She turned to Maddie. "Are these Ghost Gauntlets safe for Danny? Like, can they hurt him?"

"Yes and no," Maddie replied. Jazz raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "The Gauntlets will only work when used by the four of us," she clarified. "It's been designed to recognize only Jack's DNA, my DNA, your DNA, and Danny's ecto-signature. In anybody else's hands, it's completely useless."

"But if I happen to get in the way of a gauntlet's ecto-ray or a punch, that thing's gonna hurt like heck?" Danny assumed. Maddie and Jack nodded.

"As much as I hate to say it, son, we haven't been able to make the Gauntlets so that they can ignore your signature entirely. That being said, there's a limit to how powerful their attacks can be." Jack sighed. "The ecto-rays shouldn't be anything you can't deal with, but you should probably keep away from the punches."

"Got it," Danny agreed. "Though hopefully I don't end up in a place where you're trying to pummel my head against the wall," he joked as they all chuckled. He suddenly remembered something. "So how DID the portal get blown up?" he remembered. "Did you accidentally shoot an ecto-ray at it or something?"

"Errrr…" his father looked a bit sheepish.

"Let's just say one of the main things we're going to have your father work on during our training sessions is his aim," Maddie sighed; that was all any of them needed to know.

"Right…" Jazz drawled. She suddenly found herself grinning. "Still, imagine what these bad boys can do once we finally get the hang of using them! Heck, Danny might not even have to leave class all the time to fight a stupid ghost who tries to screw around with Casper High once you get the hang of using these!"

"You think Valerie might want a pair?" Danny asked. Everyone knew, of course, that he was talking about the Red Huntress' true identity. After the Disasteroid crisis had been averted, Valerie had offered an apology to Danny for misunderstanding him for so long. Danny had been happy to forgive her and even offered to let her join Team Phantom, but she'd refused. Not because she still held a grudge against him, but because she preferred working independently as part of her style. In a way, she kind of reminded him of Danielle; they both shared a desire to be on their own.

Maddie shrugged. "If you want to mention it to her, go ahead, but keep in mind that this is currently our only pair. We'll need to test them further to make sure things don't go sour, but after that it should be a lot easier to make more of them." She looked up at the clock. "It's eight o'clock, Danny. Aren't you and Jazz going to go out on patrol now?"

"Yep!" they answered together. Jazz collected a few Fenton weapons and raced up the stairs, Danny following closely behind her. Jack and Maddie watched contentedly as their children disappeared from view.

"Isn't it great, Maddie?" Jack asked after a while. "Our son and daughter, our pride and joy, following in the Fenton family footsteps?"

"It might not have been the life either of them expected, Jack," she replied with a knowing smile, "but God knows they do it better than anyone!"

_/_

_Amity Park lay in ruins. Its buildings destroyed, its streets aflame, and its people screaming and fleeing in terror from the wake of a vicious battle. In the center of the chaos, two figures were lunging at each other with ferocious wrath, each striving to destroy the utter completely and utterly._

"_I should have torn you apart from the moment I met you, little badger," Plasmius hissed as he hurled a red ecto-sword at the defender of the ravaged city. "Back when you were no threat to any of my plans, back when your power level wasn't even the tiniest blip compared to mine!"_

_Danny conjured up a frozen ice shield and knocked the sword out of the air. "You're just pathetic, Plasmius!" he retorted back. "Your dreams were nothing but worthless lies from the beginning! Mom never loved you and never will, and you've spent twenty years for a goal that's completely impossible! And having me as your son? Hah! You still haven't figured out the cloning technology, fruit loop, and since dad destroyed your last lab you never will!"_

"_For which I got my sweet revenge, Daniel!" Vlad howled with laughter. "Can you imagine the look on his face as I strangled the life out of his eyes? Seeing him clawing for breath as I paid him back in full for turning me into what I am and more than twenty years of suffering? Watching him die was the greatest satisfaction I've ever felt in my entire life!"_

_Danny's eyes glowed red with rage. "Monster!" he roared. He reared back his head, prepared to scream…_

"HALT!"

The image on the Observant Courtroom's screen paused as one of the Observants pointed towards it. "The future that you see before you cannot be allowed to happen, Clockwork. Vladimir Masters cannot be allowed to become the new ultimate enemy of the world."

"Yes, yes…" Clockwork muttered, already knowing where this was going. "Plasmius degenerates further into depravity and insanity, decides to take vengeance on the ones he believed have wronged him and returns to Earth, unleashes mayhem and destruction upon the entire world in the process, and attempts to kill all of Danny's friends and loved ones with varying degrees of success. All leading to a final battle in which one will destroy the other."

"Then you know what must be done?" another Observant asked. "The safety of the future must be maintained, Clockwork. You know this better than anyone."

"Of course I do," the Primordial of Time rolled his eyes. "That is one of my duties as Lord of Time, is it not?"

The Observants looked at each other. "You will not accept the strategy that we have planned, will you, Clockwork? The elimination of Vladimir Masters from any traces of existence from this point forward?"

Clockwork smiled. "Then it appears we understand each other well, Observant. No, I have a different strategy in mind. One that I have already presented earlier. One that will be far more rewarding for all whose fate has ever been intertwined with that of Vladimir's."

An Observant dressed in more ornate robes floated forward; Clockwork recognized him as one of the leaders. "Clockwork, may I speak with you in private in my chambers?"

"But of course, High Minister Oculus!" he smoothly replied. "After you!"

Oculus and Clockwork floated out of the courtroom until they were in Oculus' private chambers. "Clockwork," Oculus finally spoke again once they were in the privacy of his office. "I am well aware that many of my comrades are nearsighted and blinded by their own sense of superiority. Quite a few of them are still disgruntled over the fact that you chose to save Danny Phantom as opposed to destroying him. Even though it has been recognized that your actions yielded far better results in the long run, many of our kind are stubborn beings and refuse to admit the truth."

Clockwork nodded at the minister's speech. Oculus was one of the few Observants that he genuinely respected, since he was more open to discussion and considering other perspectives instead of the one-track, brute-force approach of his kin.

Oculus sighed. "I am willing to allow you one chance to do things your way, so to speak. If you have my approval supporting you, Clockwork, the interference you will encounter from us as a whole will be all but nonexistent. No interruptions, no intrusions."

"Hmm...knowing what I do about your normal policies, that IS a generous offer." Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "Almost _too _generous. I take it that you wish for something from me in exchange?"

"Only this," the Observant leader replied. "That if your plan fails, and Vladimir Masters refuses to step away from his current path, that you accept our strategy to destroy him."

"You wish for me to send his soul to Oblivion?" Clockwork asked skeptically. "That seems rather extreme, even considering his evil."

"Send his soul to Oblivion, have the Primordial of Death claim him, whatever it takes to take him out of the picture permanently," Oculus asserted. "This is a matter of trust, Clockwork. You've accomplished the seemingly impossible in the past, so I am going against Observant tradition and giving you full control of the situation. What I ask in return is that you return that control to us if your plan results in failure."

"And not a single Observant will interfere? Not even a single visit to question my actions?" Clockwork pressed.

"While you are taking care of business you will not see even a trace of our existence," the High Minister promised. "I will see to that personally."

The Time Master smiled. "Then we have a deal, High Minister," The two of them shook hands. "As a matter of fact, I was planning on beginning my plans anyway, though our little arrangement will certainly accelerate my progress."

"And one more thing, Clockwork," Oculus interrupted. "About the ghost child and the new state of power he has unlocked…"

"All in good time, High Minister, all in good time."

_Clockwork's Tower_

"Back so soon?" Dan snorted as Clockwork teleported back into his tower. "I would have thought the Observants would have drawn you into another three hour long session discussing something that could have taken about ten minutes with any _competent_ council."

"Don't you have something you ought to be doing right now?" Clockwork pointed his staff at the door.

"I know well enough," Dan sneered as he picked himself up off a chair. "So, my next target is a rapist?" His face contorted into a look of absolute hate and disgust. "Bah! The lowest scum of them all. An act that transforms one into a degenerate animal without even the barest traces of dignity. Destroying him will be my personal pleasure." He floated into the air and flew out of the tower with a furious speed.

Clockwork watched him leave before allowing himself to dive into his own thoughts. So, the Observants were going to give him free reign for the time being? Good. He didn't need those annoying eyeballs barging in at the worst times.

Their solution to the problem of Vladimir Masters had been so predictable. Destroy him to prevent him becoming a threat. The same rationale that they had used against Danny Phantom back when he was in danger of becoming a monster corrupted beyond hope of redemption.

There would have been no need to send beings such as the Boxed Lunch or Skulktech 9.9 to destroy Danny if Clockwork's intent had ever been to crush him. He was Primordial of Time, after all. He had the potential to wipe anyone he chose out of existence and they wouldn't even realize what was happening. It would be so effortless, so simple to "remove" Masters from the equation.

A pity that it would also be so unbelievably wasteful and unproductive.

Killing Vladimir Masters would be easy, not even worth a few minutes of his time. But _redeeming_ him, now _that_ was a task worthy of his attention and his efforts. It would certainly be much more difficult to steer him on a path of virtue than with Danny; the younger halfa was fundamentally a good person, if a tad reckless and impulsive at times. Unlike him, Vlad had decades of bitterness infused within his very soul, and had long since accepted a path of evil. But the capacity for redemption was there, he and Danny had both seen it in the timeline where Dan had ruled supreme. To turn that capacity into reality would require finesse and careful handling, perhaps even more than the situation with Danny. It would most certainly be challenging, there was no doubt in Clockwork's mind about that. But then again, it was a fact of life and afterlife that the best rewards came only after dedication and difficulty. And if there was anything that Clockwork truly anticipated, it was a challenge.

"The first steps have already been taken," he thought. He knew that Vlad would be going through a roller coaster of emotions before he reached that final stage of anger and hate, the point of no return. Despair, loneliness, grief, all of them would roil through his mind. But there had been a time when he was feeling guilt and remorse as one of the stages, around the same time that the Disasteroid was about to crash into him.

It was then that Clockwork had acted. As the Disasteroid was about to collide into him, he had frozen time around Vlad so that he would be in stasis during the time when he was closest to repentance. He had then called upon his beloved sister and fellow Primordial Spatia, Empress of Dimensions and Reality, to transport the frozen Vlad into an isolated dimension, safe from the prying eyes of any but the Primordials themselves. There would be no harm done to Vlad himself; in fact, if and when Clockwork decided to unlock the temporal and spatial seals on him, he would not remember anything beyond the moments of the Disasteroid's advance.

The Master of Time suddenly felt a being of extreme power coming towards his tower, and he smiled as he recognized her unique signature. "Excellent!" he thought. "It appears my dear sister has finally arrived."

As if on cue, Spatia herself crossed the threshold of the tower and into his vision. Of the three Primordials, her appearance was by far the most regal and queenlike. Spatia's silver hair flowed behind her and glowed with the appearance of starlight, and she shared the same pale skin that her brother had. Unlike him, however, her eyes more closely resembled those of a human, and were colored a deep purple. Her robe and cloak were black, but with gold trim at the edges and stars twinkling throughout the garment. In her hand was a staff similar to Clockwork's, but golden with a half-sun half-moon shaped orb in its crest. In short, the Empress of Dimensions and Reality was exactly as beautiful as Clockwork remembered her, and more.

"Brother," Spatia greeted him warmly as the two embraced. "It has been a long time since we last met face to face, has it not?"

"Several centuries, though I can be more specific if you wish." Spatia laughed at that; her brother always did have a wry sense of humor. "How is our brother Death?" he asked.

"Busy as always," she sighed. "You know all too well that the Reaper takes his duties very seriously. Too seriously, one might say. But anyway," she changed the topic, "I trust that soon the time will come to implement your plan, Clockwork? The one revolving the elder halfa?"

"The time is indeed nigh upon us, Spatia," Clockwork agreed. "I will be sending Dan Phantom on extensive errands and criminal hunts during the next few days. I do not want to deal with the headaches and complications that will occur if Dan Phantom were to meet Vlad Plasmius."

Spatia frowned. "Personally, Clockwork, I would have already banished him to Oblivion if I were you," she commented. "His actions in his own timeline have certainly warranted such a fate."

"You know full well why I cannot allow that to happen, sister," Clockwork responded. Spatia only nodded in response, though she still didn't seem entirely pleased.

"Speaking of Dan…" she asked. "I've been looking forward to meeting the young halfa who has accomplished so much despite the heavy burden he has worn on his shoulders. Danny Phantom is truly a unique individual, is he not?"

Clockwork grinned. "I know it all too well, sister. And do not worry, you will get the honor of meeting him soon enough. Although many would say that it is _Danny_ who will get the honor of meeting _you_."

The Empress laughed out loud at that. "I suppose, given our reputations," she smirked, though it rapidly faded. "Though I have heard that yours has become somewhat more defined by fear than it has been in the past, Clockwork."

"I will not deny that I have had to adopt a more…unpleasant demeanor in recent times," her brother admitted. "But even if we removed the factor that I care greatly for my student, Spatia, my duty is to ensure the security and safety of the time stream for the greater good. And if that requires me to throttle the threat out of an evil future or an imbecilic hunter, I will gladly do so with no remorse."

"Just be sure not to overdo it, brother," his sister cautioned before her lighthearted smile returned. "So then! Are you ready to proceed with your plan to redeem Vladimir Masters yet?"

"There is no need to be hasty, Spatia," Clockwork smiled. "Business can wait until later. We have several centuries of catching up to do first, after all."

/

So that's my introduction of the second Primordial. Please give a warm welcome to Spatia, Empress of Dimensions and Reality! I imagine her to be the kindest of the three Primordials, though like Clockwork she's also omniscient (all three Primordials are in fact). If Dan ever tried to manipulate her she'd probably just bitch-slap him. With a reality distortion blast that will hurt just as hard whether you exist in or outside of time.

Spatia means space in latin by the way. Sorry for the lack of originality :P

I used to be a huge Pokémon Platinum nut, so yeah :P You have your deities of time, space, and death :P I'm not sure if I'll bring the Reaper into the story yet, though. For now I'm just focusing on these two.

I'd like to think that not EVERY Observant is a stuck-up, nearsighted asshole. Fortunately, one of the ones who can actually think outside the box happens to be their leader.

I do think Clockwork loves a good challenge, otherwise what is he going to do in his tower all day to not keep himself bored out of his mind? And redeeming a man like Vlad certainly won't be a lolez walk-in-the-park.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Primordials

A/N: Please note that any potential religious references DO NOT reflect the actual religious views of the author.

Chapter 13 – The Primordials

_The Next Morning_

"Hrrraaaaaaaaaaaaargggggggghhhhhh…." Danny yawned as he got up from the bed. "Ten of hours of sleep, and I loved every second of it!" He looked around and noticed that the drawers had been opened and several clothes had been taken out. "Huh?" he wondered, "what happened to my clothes?"

He phased through the floor and into the kitchen, where his family was waiting for him. "Danny!" Maddie scolded, "How many times have I told you not to use your ghost powers in the house like that?"

"Sorry mom," Danny rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "So are we doing anything today? You know, family training and all that?"

Jack shook his head. "It's gonna have to wait til tomorrow, Danny boy. We need to finish up stabilizing the Ghost Gauntlets and making sure they're 100% safe to use today." He looked apologetically at his son. "Sorry we keep delaying our family bonding time."

Danny shrugged. "I don't mind, dad, I'm just glad to know you care. I'll probably be heading into the Ghost Zone today by myself then."

"Alone?" Jazz asked confused. "You're not going to be bringing me, Sam, or Tucker?"

Her brother shook his head. "Something I need to do by myself, Jazz. Don't you always go to the library on your own for the privacy?"

"Just make sure you stay away from Clockwork's tower," Maddie reminded him. "I don't think he'll be very happy if you barge into whatever business he's taking care of right now."

"Trust me," he smirked, "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Oh, and in case you're wondering about your clothes," Maddie added as an afterthought, "we'll be ecto-zapping them so that you have more than just two things to wear. Sound good?"

Danny laughed. "Mom, if you hadn't beaten me to the punch that woulda been the first thing I did when I got up!"

_Ghost Writer's Library_

"Been a while since I've come here," Danny thought as he approached the floating manor. He suddenly smirked. "I bet the Ghost Writer's gonna get quite a surprise when he sees me around."

He'd long ago buried the hatchet with the Ghost Writer after the Christmas fiasco had happened. Danny had found it surprisingly easy to forgive him, since unlike other ghosts the Ghost Writer's actions had largely been to teach him a lesson that, if he was honest with himself, he really did need to learn.

Danny had asked Clockwork to get the Writer released as early as possible once he'd explained the circumstances. Walker hadn't been too pleased for obvious reasons, but he didn't dare go against the command of a Primordial and he'd been in a relatively lenient mood anyway since it was New Year's. Once the Ghost Writer had been freed from the cell, it had been a quick matter of both he and Danny exchanging apologies, recognizing their own mistakes, agreeing to let the matter rest, and moving on.

Though calling them the two of them friends now would be a bit of a stretch, both Danny and the Writer were fairly cordial, if a bit cautious around each other, and Danny was welcome at the manor (so long as he didn't fire any more ecto rays in the direction of the house). The halfa approached the entrance to the manor and knocked on the door three times.

The door to the manor swung open and the Ghost Writer peeked out. "Young Danny!" he exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting to see you of all people here!"

"Hi, Ghost Writer," Danny replied back with a small wave of his hand. "Do you mind if I do some research on a certain topic?"

"Well, I certainly won't refuse a request to expand one's knowledge," the Ghost Writer gestured for Danny to come in. "On what exactly do you wish to research?"

"_Who'd want to mess with a fucking Primordial's student, for fuck's sake?" _Ember's voice echoed through his mind. _"You can look it up in the Ghost Writer's library later, baby pop. But bottom line, if you somehow get on their bad side, you might as well throw yourself in the middle of a fight between a full-powered Pariah Dark and Dan Phantom without Clockwork keeping him on a leash. They'll end you a lot more quickly and a lot less messily."_

"On the Primordials," Danny replied. The Ghost Writer nodded sagely.

"I see," he mused. "I can't really say I'm surprised, considering the close bond that you and Clockwork share. Let me show you into the library." Danny followed the Ghost Writer into the depths of the manse, where he floated upward to a specific part of the bookshelves and pulled out a book. "Here is all you will need to know about the Primordials," the ghost declared as he handed the book over to Danny. "You can keep the book. Unlike my Christmas stories," Danny's face flushed with embarrassment but fortunately the GW didn't expound on the topic any further, "I easily have several copies and I can afford to give one away with little cost to myself." He grinned. "Truth be told, ghost child, I never took you to be the studious type, so seeing you here in the pursuit of knowledge is a bit of a surprise!"

"It all depends on the topic," Danny smirked as he took the book. "Thanks, Ghost Writer."

"Pleasure's all mine!" he replied, and then he frowned. "Be careful, ghost child. A supernatural ecto-storm will be thundering through various parts of the Ghost Zone soon, including this sector. The various ghost realms, even the ones that are out in the open part of the main zone, are safe from the rage of such storms, but trust me when I say that you do not want to be caught in the wake of one."

"I passed my realm on the way here, I'll stay there until the storm's over," Danny decided as he flew out through the manse's entrance. "Thanks again!" he called out as he flew off into the distance.

The Ghost Writer smiled as he closed the doors to his manse and locked them up. "The halfa's not really so bad once you get to know him," he thought as he turned his attention back towards writing his newest book.

_Danny's Realm_

As it turned out, unfortunately, the Ghost Writer's words had been right on the money. Danny could already feel the atmosphere of the Ghost Zone pulse with tension, as if it some great force was emanating through it. "Trying to make a break for the Fenton Portal's too risky," he thought, "I'll stick with my realm for now. I hope Dani isn't somewhere out in the open," he worried as he rushed closer to his realm.

He flew to the front entrance of the DP Mansion and pulled open the door. To his immense relief, both Wulf and Dani were waiting for him in the atrium. "Thank God!" Dani exclaimed. "Wulf told me there was storm coming! We were afraid you were stranded somewhere in the Zone!"

"I'm fine, Dani!" Danny laughed as he locked the entrance to the mansion. "Let me just call my parents to let them know what's up."

He took out his ecto-phone and punched in the number to Fenton Works. "Hi, sweetie!" Maddie's voice rang in his ear. "What's up?"

"There's a storm raging through the Ghost Zone," Danny explained.

"WHAT?" Maddie exclaimed. "If you can, come back home right now!"

"Can't, mom, I'm not risking getting caught in the storm. It looks like it's going to break open any second."

"Are you someplace safe? Do you need one of us to come get you?" her voice was now filled with worry.

"I'm in my realm, all of the realms are safe from stuff like this, even the ones out in the main ghost zone like mine. But I probably won't be back for a while."

He could clearly tell that his mom wanted to come get him as soon as possible, but she ultimately decided that Danny could take care of himself. Besides, trying to go after him now could possibly result in her getting caught up in the storm too, and she'd probably be worse off than Danny in that state. "All right, sweetie, don't you dare leave your realm until that storm passes, do you hear me?"

"Wasn't planning on it, mom. You might want to close the portal with max security just to make sure it doesn't spill out in your lab."

"Will do, Danny! Be careful!" And with that, Maddie closed off the call. It was just as well, too; Danny could already hear the rumble of what sounded suspiciously like thunder in the distance.

Dani had already fled down to the basement, no doubt eager to get her hands on more video games until the storm passed. _"I already closed and locked all the windows,"_ Wulf grunted as he too departed for wherever he normally hung out in the mansion. Danny nodded his thanks and climbed up the stairs to his room to read the book the Ghost Writer had given him. To his surprise, as soon as he opened the door he could already see the storm raging outside of the mansion. Beyond the window, the entire Ghost Zone was covered in the dark shadows of storm clouds as sharp droplets of ecto-rain lashed against the side of the house, bright green lightning crackling and thunder booming in tandem.

"Wow…" he whistled, "I am REALLY glad I didn't try to rush for the portal. I hope mom and dad closed it in time." He sat down on his desk and opened the book the Ghost Writer had given him, turning to the chapter marked "The Primordials."

_When the universe came into existence,_ the chapter began, _along with its creation came the creation of the three Primordials. The first sentient beings to ever come into existence, these Primordials were manifested directly from the complex nature of the universe itself and the forces that run it. Together, these three beings represent the ever flowing and fluctuating nature of time, the vast fabric of dimensions and reality, and the inevitability of the cycle of life and death. Their true names are known only to them, but in the common language they are known as Thanatos, the Grim Reaper and Lord of the Cycle; Spatia, Empress of Dimensions and Reality; and Clockwork, Master of Time. Wielding powers far greater than any human or ghost can hope to possess, the Primordials protect and maintain the universe on behalf of the many lives that have come in the past, present, and future. To even encounter these beings directly is an extremely rare privilege in itself, for rarely do they manifest directly in either the Earth or the Ghost Zone. Blessed are those who enjoy the favor of a Primordial, and woe to those who invoke their fury._

"Oh my…" Danny breathed, his jaw dropping as a thunderbolt flashed outside. He'd known that Clockwork was a very powerful ghost; the way he'd dealt with Dan had demonstrated that. But of course he couldn't have possibly know that, for the past couple of months he'd spent with Clockwork, that he'd been basking in the presence of what was effectively a god. He suddenly smirked. "This book's out of date, though, Clockwork hangs around all the time in the GZ in that tower of his."

He turned to a paragraph that described Clockwork specifically, but to his disappointment it didn't tell him much more than he already knew about the Master of Time. Something told him that Clockwork had had a hand somewhere in restricting just how much information should be revealed about him, which Danny had to admit made sense given how distant the Master of Time was from the rest of the ghosts. Then again, was he even a ghost at all? At least in the typical sense?

The book DID however, expound more upon Clockwork's darker side, something that Danny found chilling and yet also fascinating. _While the Master of Time is by far the most…present…in the realm of mortals and he will gladly offer aid to those who need it, Clockwork takes his duties to protect and run time VERY seriously. There are those who have tried to ruin time, either by attempting to cause havoc in the past, something which Clockwork eventually solved by preventing the possibility of any sort of time travel outside of his explicit permission, or initiate a chain of disasters that could irrevocably ruin the future. These fools suffer the brunt of Clockwork's devastating wrath. At the worst, such fools would suffer terrifying consequences that could range from the excruciating agony of actually being ripped away from reality (a temporary but unbelievably painful punishment), being locked in a time loop for as long as Clockwork deems fit, being destroyed so thoroughly that it would take several centuries to reform, or even complete and absolute Oblivion._

"Oblivion?" Danny wondered. He didn't like the sound of that, though he had no clue what that actually entailed. "Maybe there's more to it later in the book," he thought. To his surprise, the last parts of the chapter on Clockwork had to be quite recent, for it detailed events that included HIM of all people. The paragraphs elaborated on Dan Phantom, the amount of devastation he caused to the future, how Danny was able to stop his evil alternate reality with Clockwork's help, and how Clockwork brutally defeated Dan himself a few months after. Danny was even more surprised to learn about how the Master of Time had personally stopped any ghost from attacking him while he studied for the make-up C.A.T.s, and couldn't help but snicker at the mention of Skulker getting his ass handed to him.

"Wow…" Danny thought as he concluded the chapter. "He did that for me? I need to make sure to thank him later…but I hope I never, EVER see that bad side of his." He turned to the next chapter, one that detailed the next Primordial.

_Empress Spatia rules over the various dimensions throughout the multiverse, maintaining and defending all of space under her watchful custodianship. Of the three Primordials, she is said to be the most kindhearted of the three, though more distant than her brother Clockwork since she dwells in the far reaches of space rather than in a comparatively accessible tower in the Ghost Zone. This kindness is NOT to be equated to naivety, however, for Spatia is just as omniscient as her brother and attempting to take advantage of her kindness is worse than suicidal. Along with numerous enhanced ghost powers that are easily on the same level as her fellow Primordials', Empress Spatia has complete mastery over all of reality as it is part of her domain. It was with a miniscule portion of her power that the Reality Gauntlet was created._

"That didn't work out very well," Danny muttered with a wry smirk as his mind flashed back to the incident with Freakshow. He suddenly remembered that the Reality Gauntlet had also allowed him some limited control over time as well as space; was it possible that some of the Primordials' powers overlapped with each other? "It makes sense," he mused. After all, Clockwork could teleport far more effectively and over much greater distances than any other ghost he knew,and that was all he'd seen of the Master of Time's powers over space. The book wasn't revealing much more on that subject, but again that was probably deliberate. A part of him was worried that maybe he might have pissed the Empress off by destroying the Reality Gauntlet, but considering that he hadn't suffered any negative consequences as a result of it and Clockwork never brought up the subject, maybe she had planned to destroy it eventually herself or was satisfied that he had done the dirty work for her.

There was one Primordial left, and something told Danny that he had a good feeling what this one would look like. Sure enough, the picture was of a mysterious figure wearing a hooded black cloak and wielding a sinister-looking scythe. _By far the most mysterious and secluded of the Primordials, Thanatos is also the one that has suffered the most misrepresentation in modern culture. Many are under the tragic misunderstanding that the Reaper is an evil being that delights in tormenting human souls and bringing about their demise. However, this inaccuracy has been vehemently denied by both Clockwork and Spatia, suggesting that Thanatos is no more evil of a being than either of the other two Primordials. Thanatos is in charge of collecting the souls of mortals upon death, guiding them into their passage into the afterlife. Generally, he only appears when a mortal's time has come and rarely appears in any other situation. Where he sends these souls depends on the soul itself. The majority of souls dwell in the Ghost Zone as ghosts, while beings of outstanding virtue or irredeemable wickedness are sent to Heaven or banished to Oblivion respectively. While Thanatos does not have any problem with allowing the living and the dead to interact, something which has become much more prevalent with the creation of the artificial Ghost Portals, he frowns upon necromancy and will severely punish any who attempt to enslave the souls of the dead._

"I wouldn't want to be Freakshow right now," Danny muttered. From what he'd seen of the crazy ghost-envious ringmaster, his actions had very likely pissed off not one but TWO of the Primordials. Speaking of which… "I keep hearing this word _Oblivion_ being tossed around all the time," he thought. "What does that even mean?"

Danny flipped the pages of the book until he found the section describing Oblivion in detail. _When most ghosts are killed in the Ghost Zone, the death that they experience is not actually a permanent one. Upon such a death, the bare essence of the soul returns to the Ghost Zone (if the death did not occur previously in the Zone itself) and will gradually reform over time. This process can last for a very long time, and generally comes with severe side effects that include amnesia and loss of powers, which can only be quickly overcome through the direct intervention of one of the Primordials. However, to be cast into Oblivion is to experience permanent destruction. Death does not accurately describe such a fate, for it is more akin to being ripped out of existence forever, leaving nothing behind. It is a fate reserved for the most wicked and corrupted souls who have committed the gravest of sins without repentance. The only beings who are capable of inflicting such a fate are the Primordials themselves, since no normal being should ever be allowed to harness such a dreadful power. Banishment to Oblivion can only be reversed if all three Primordials consent to the restoration of the soul, something which has yet to happen._

"Clockwork's guest HAS to be another Primordial!" Danny exclaimed as he slammed the book cover down. "I thought he was joking when he said she would banish Dan to oblivion, but it turns out he was being completely serious! And based on that and from what I just read, his guest HAS to be Empress Spatia!"

He sat down on his bed and lay down on the blanket, folding his arms behind his head and looking up towards the ceiling as the supernatural ecto-storm raged outside. "I wonder if I can meet her some day?" he wondered as his mind slowly drifted off to the world of dreams. "I hope she'll forgive me for destroying the Reality Gauntlet…and that she really is as nice as that book made her out to be…"

/

I know this was more exposition-based stuff, sorry T_T

I promise this is the last of it, next chapters will go back to the good stuff with Fenton Family Training and, of course, more Ember!


	14. Chapter 14 - Stranded

A/N: I'm not dead! Just…really busy.

Chapter 14 – Stranded

_The DP Mansion_

"Whew," Dani sighed in relief as she peeked out the window, more than three hours after the storm had initially broken open. "It looks like that storm's finally letting up."

Danny walked up to one of the other windows and looked out as well. Sure enough, the lightning and thunder had all but subsided, and the furious bombardment of ecto-rain had lightened up to a mere drizzle as the storm clouds finally began to disperse. "Great!" he relaxed visibly. "Soon I can go home, everyone must be worried sick!"

The duo waited for another hour until all signs of the storm had all but vanished. Danny rushed out of the mansion and took off immediately, blazing through the Ghost Zone as he rushed towards the Fenton Portal. As he approached the Portal entrance, however, he found to its surprise that it was still sealed completely shut. "What the…" he muttered, "…oh right, I never actually called mom and dad to let them know the storm's over. Whoops!" He picked up his cell phone and dialed Fentonworks. "Hello, mom? Dad? Jazz?"

"Danny!" Maddie seemed noticeably relieved at having received the call from her son. "Are you all right?"

"Storm's over, mom!" Danny reported happily. "I'm fine, none of the friends I was hanging around with got hurt, worst that happened was just a minor freak out. Open that portal, please!"

"On it!" Jack's voice boomed as he rushed off to open the Fenton Portal. Danny waited as several seconds passed.

"Uh…Mom? Dad? The portal?"

"It's not working!" Maddie shouted in a panicked tone. "The portal's not working!"

"WHAT?" Danny exclaimed in disbelief. "You guys didn't blow it up again, did you?"

"That's not it, Danny!" Jack explained, his voice disturbingly grim. "We're examining every inch of the portal right now. It was working perfectly this morning when we fixed it, and nothing's changed since then. The portal doors are opening and everything, but there's nothing but empty space inside!"

"It's not just the Fenton Portal, young Danny," a voice interrupted his thoughts. Danny looked backward to see the Ghost Writer floating a few feet away wearing a frown. "The storm that blazed through here a couple of moments ago was far more severe an event than I had originally predicted. In fact, I am quite relieved to see you whole and well since I wasn't sure if you had any shelter in the storm."

Danny nodded and smiled. "I was fine, thanks. Actually spent the whole time reading that book you leant me on the Primordials, so thanks for that, it was really helpful!"

The Ghost Writer laughed. "Glad to hear it!" he chortled before his expression turned serious again. "I told you earlier that the storm we have just witnessed was going to spread throughout a large portion of the Ghost Zone. That was an understatement; it raged through the ENTIRE Ghost Zone. Almost every area, even regions as removed as the Far Frozen, felt its impact in some way."

Danny's eyes widened. "Frostbite!" he panicked. "I didn't know he was going to be hit by this too!"

The Ghost Writer smirked wryly. "If anything, the Far Frozen yetis are likely significantly MORE prepared for an emergency like this than most of us." He frowned. "Is that your parents that are on that phone of yours right now?"

Danny suddenly looked a bit sheepish; he had forgotten that he had been calling them before he had interrupted with his new conversation with the Writer. "Mom, dad?" he spoke into the phone. "Sorry I was ignoring you for a bit, I was just trying to find out some more info."

"We can hear everything you two are saying, Danny, keep going! We need to hear this and understand just what is going on!" Maddie answered back.

"I cannot claim to have full knowledge of the situation, but I will give you what I believe is going on based on my investigations so far," the Writer offered. He cleared his throat and continued, "The ecto-storm in the Ghost Zone right now was one of the strongest that has been witnessed in a very long time. It is fortunate that these storms cannot pierce individual ghost realms or there would have been horrendous levels of chaos and devastation. And this storm wasn't just any ordinary ecto-storm, Danny. It appears to have distorted the very nature of the Ghost Zone itself."

Danny had a feeling he wasn't going to like what that meant. "Distorted the very nature…how?" he asked.

"It's hard to tell for sure. However, as of this moment, it's believed that the storm has significantly weakened the link between the human and ghost worlds. Judging by what I have gathered from some investigations within the past hour, every portal between our worlds, natural and artificial, has been cut off and effectively destroyed.

"DESTROYED!" All three Fentons shouted in disbelief. "You mean there's no way for our boy to come home?" Maddie all but screeched. Danny winced as he imagined the look of fear and horror on his mom's face.

"Calm down, calm down!" The Ghost Writer protested, trying to placate them. "The situation is not as severe as you think! The only way that there would be no way for your son to return home is if the link was severed permanently, and that would mean the complete destruction of both worlds! The portals will regenerate over time, though outside intervention can speed up that process." He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "That might also explain…yes…that has to be the reason why."

"Wait, what?" Danny asked confused.

The Writer looked curiously at Danny. "It is an unusual coincidence that you would seek knowledge about the Primordials. There've been rumors that a second Primordial, Empress Spatia, has been sighted in the Ghost Zone recently. These rumors are as of now unconfirmed, nobody has been able to prove or disprove her presence as of yet. However, if Clockwork and Spatia were aware that the storm was coming, which I'm sure they were, it would make sense for her to come down and for the two of them to work together to repair the damage as quickly and as efficiently as possible."

Danny's mind was racing as he heard this. The second Primordial HAD to be Spatia, there was no doubt about it in his mind. The clue that Clockwork had dropped regarding Oblivion, the stuff he'd read in the book, the craziness with the storm, it all made sense! No wonder Clockwork had cancelled all training for the week, if he had something this big to deal with and a guest this important to host!

"Danny?" his parents' voices jarred him out of his thoughts. "Son," Jack asked worriedly, "are you going to be all right in the GZ all by yourself? What are you going to do?"

His son's eyes focused in determination. "I'll do what I've been doing," he told them. "I'm going to spend the time building up my realm, sticking around there for most of my time in the Zone, and possibly hang out with some of my ghost friends."

The Ghost Writer nodded approvingly. "That is, I believe, your wisest course of action, young Phantom. In the meantime, I and no doubt several other ghosts will be investigating the impact of the storm. Unfortunately, there is no way for any of us to confirm anything since Clockwork has sealed off his tower from ghost visits, so we will have to operate with what tools we may have. I will see you later," he concluded with a wave as he started to fly away.

Danny looked at the sealed portal again before picking up his phone again. "You heard what I said to the Ghost Writer, right? That's my plan until the portals start up and running again."

"Danny, you've been doing this thing for years now and we trust your judgment," his dad responded with surprising cheer given the situation. "You're a Fenton, and Fentons are prepared for anything! Just…please be safe."

"I won't let anything happen to me, guys. We can get right down to Fenton family training business as soon as I get back!" Danny promised. The three of them exchanged farewells, and then Danny cut off the connection. He sighed. "Okay, might as well get back to working on my realm then. Gonna be pain to do it without the Ecto-Skeleton, but gotta work with what I have, I guess."

_Danny's Realm_

"I thought you hated doing work, Danny!" Dani joked as she and her "brother" surveyed the empty land outside of the DP Mansion grounds. "You're actually going to build up the park now?"

"It's the only thing I _can _work on," Danny explained. "There's no way I can make the bar I have in mind, not without the Ecto-Skeleton. So, that leaves the park!"

He floated over to the center of the realm, the same place where he had intended to create his golden fountain the first time when he had trained with Clockwork. He lifted his hand and could feel the ectoplasm of the realm flow and pulsate under his command. Danny smiled in anticipation as began to create the same fountain. "And this time, I'm going to do it right!"

_Ember's Realm, A Few Hours Later_

"Well, I'm sure none of us were expecting a storm of this magnitude to hit everywhere in the GZ! This is Ghost Zone Central, your favorite News TV show of the afterlife, signing off!" a female ghost reporter announced on the television.

"You mean the _only_ news TV show of the Afterlife," Ember rolled her eyes. "They barely told us anything, Kitty!"

"They told us enough!" the biker ghost ranted. "We're even more stuck here now than we were ever since those Fenton weirdos cracked down on their security! No Fenton portal, no Vlad portal, no natural portals, no NOTHING!"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Whatever…" she muttered as she got up from her couch. "I'm going out to check up on the pipsqueaks. I hope Youngblood wasn't stupid enough to think that the storm would be," she put air quotes around her fingers, "play time."

She quickly disappeared in a vortex of flames and reappeared outside of Youngblood's lair. She knocked on the door with her fist. "Hey, Youngblood!" she called. "You there?"

The door swung open to reveal a very grumpy Youngblood. "Yeah," he grunted. "Been waiting all morning for this stupid storm to end. Do you even realize how boring it is to play video games by yourself?"

A skeletal cat's head poked over Youngblood, covered in a dark mask. "I guess Youngblood's pretending to be a ninja," Ember thought, barely repressing a smirk.

"Technically, sir, I was in the room with you when you were entertaining yourself," his assistant helpfully contributed.

"You can barely hold a console in your hand, you don't count!"

Ember decided to interrupt them before their bickering would give her a headache. "All right, all right, obviously you two are just fine. I don't even know what I was thinking when I bothered to check up on you, shorty."

"Hey!" the kid ghost protected. "I might like a fun time but I'm not stupid enough to go messing around with an ecto-storm!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Ember muttered. "Now all I have to do is check up on the little dipper and then, oh I don't even know what the heck I'm going to do until those portals start working again. I might write a new song or something…"

Youngblood perked up at the mention of Dani. "Little dipper? You mean like Danny's sister?

"That's the one," the ghost diva confirmed. Her eyes narrowed as an idea suddenly popped into her head. "What's got you so excited all of a sudden?"

"Uh…nothing!" he replied quickly. "She's just a new friend that I made yesterday." He suddenly gave a surprisingly fierce glare at Ember. "Why do you even care anyway, it's none of your business!" he yelled.

The rocker's eyes widened and she raised her hands in a pacifying gesture; she'd only been teasing him but apparently she'd somehow struck a nerve. "All right, all right, I'm sorry! Geez, I didn't know you were in this bad of a mood."

Youngblood sighed and rubbed the front of his nose with his hand. "You wanna just hang out at Phantom's place, then?" he asked. "I'm getting real sick of this place right now."

Ember shrugged. So the kid was just blowing off some steam? That was understandable. "I was gonna head off there anyway, pipsqueak. You're welcome to come along if you want."

The ghost kid happily slammed the door to his realm shut and floated right next to his friend. "By the way," he complained, "stop calling me pipsqueak!"

The ghost diva laughed. "Whatever you say…pipsqueak."

_The Open Ghost Zone, Edge of Danny's Realm_

"You're kidding me!" Youngblood howled with tears of mirth. "She actually tried to sing and play guitar?"

"It was so bad!" Ember laughed. Youngblood stared at her as he realized it was a genuine, friendly laugh instead of the evil one that he'd been accustomed to for so long. "You have no idea! And considering how much of an awesome rocker the dipstick is, talk about dissonance!"

"Phantom can rock?" Kitty asked, eyes wide. "Wait, WHAT?"

The ghost diva grinned. "Oh yeah, big time. Singing, guitaring, he's got the whole package, Kitty. I bet you didn't know that Phantom wanted to be a rock star too before the whole thing with the ghost powers and all that. He kinda gave up on it after that, but I heard him play yesterday and if he hadn't told me otherwise I would've thought he's been doing it for years!"

Kitty glanced at her friend slyly. "Is my best friend suddenly thinking about changing her no duet policy?" _Whoo boy, if she starts blushing…_

To her disappointment, however, she couldn't read any further emotions off of Ember's face. "Depends on whether or not I think he'd be any good on the stage by the end of the summer," she shrugged nonchalantly. Of course, she _was _thinking about letting Danny play alongside her as part of her band, but Ember wasn't going to let herself get baited into Kitty's trap. She bumped into Youngblood, who had stopped moving.

"Hey!" she protested. "Why'd you stop moving?" Youngblood didn't respond; instead, he was pointing in front of him with his eyes wide in shock.

"Guys…" he asked slowly, "wasn't the land in front of Phantom's mansion barren rock?"

"Yeah, why…" Ember and Kitty looked where Youngblood was pointing, and their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "What the hell?" Kitty exclaimed.

The land in the middle section of the island realm was still barren and untouched, which all of them had expected since that was where Phantom was planning to make his bar. However, the area beyond that all the way up to the Mansion had been transformed into a flourishing park. It was now covered almost entirely in grass and the occasional flowers, except for a few stone roads that looked paved and polished compared to what the ground had looked like before. Scattered here and there were a few trees and benches, but what really got their attention was the beautiful golden fountain at the very center of the park with ectoplasm flowing from the very top into the very bottom.

"Hey!" Danny cheerfully called out as floated up to greet them. "Like the latest addition to the realm?"

"PHANTOM?" all three of them spluttered.

"Yeah…" the halfa laughed at their stunned expressions. "I…uh…I was here in the morning reading a book on the Primordials that the Ghost Writer lent me and then I got stuck in the ecto-storm. Crazy stuff."

"No kidding!" Kitty agreed. "It pretty much completely wrecked every portal between the human world and the Ghost Zone! I haven't heard of anything like this ever happening, and it's been decades since I died!"

"Wait a minute, dipstick!" Ember interrupted. "Doesn't this mean that you can't get home at all?"

Danny grimaced. "Yeah…thanks to a little help from the Ghost Writer, I know what's going on and so do my parents, but I can still tell they're going to be worried sick. And don't even get me started on Jazz, Sam, and Tucker."

"Ouch…" Ember winced. Danny was pretty much stuck in the Ghost Zone without his friends or family. And since she was the one who suggested that Danny look up the Primordials in the first place, then that meant it was at least partially her fault that her new friend was stuck in the first place, didn't it? "Sorry, baby pop…"

Danny shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it, Em. Honestly, even if you hadn't made that suggestion I probably would've come here anyway just to check on Dani and Wulf. So chances are I would've gotten stranded here either way."

"Yeah, well, you sure as hell made the most of your time here so far!" Ember remarked. "I mean, just look at this park, it looks freaking amazing! How did you get so much done in only a couple of hours?"

Danny shrugged. "It was either play video games, mope around, or get some work done on my realm. I wanted to wait until later for the video games, and I wouldn't be doing anybody any good sitting around and feeling sorry for myself, so here I am! I did as much as I could possibly do without the Ecto-Skeleton, and," he yawned, "I am really, REALLY tired now. If I'd known this would've happened I would've taken one of my Ecto-Amplifier packs."

Youngblood playfully punched Danny's shoulder. "Then I say we all get into the mansion and hit the game room! I can't wait to kick Dani's butt in video games!"

"Oh that's right!" Ember suddenly remembered why she'd come here in the first place. "How is the little dipper anyway? I kinda wanted to check up on her after the storm to make sure she was all right."

"She's fine, Em," Danny assured her, "but thanks for coming anyway." He grinned. "I don't know what the heck is going on in the Ghost Zone right now, but for now I don't even care. Let's have some fun, guys! Getting home will be a bridge I'll cross when I get there."

_Clockwork's Tower_

"It is done!" Empress Spatia declared. "Our task is now complete!"

Clockwork frowned. "We should have carried this out a long time ago," he muttered, "long before Phantom or Plasmius could ever have gotten involved in this mess. Still, what's done is done, and a terrible threat that has long loomed over the Ghost Zone is now laid bare forever."

High Minister Oculus bowed his head. "I know that we agreed not to disturb you, Clockwork," he apologized. "However, that was only on matters related to…well, you know. This was an issue that has nothing to do with what you are currently working on and was regarded as an extremely urgent matter by our Council, so technically our agreement did not extend there."

The Master of Time shook his head. "It is no trouble at all, High Minister," he replied calmly. "I know the stipulations and limitations of our agreement, and I will not begrudge your interruption in this regard. Especially," he thought with satisfaction, "when the Observant High Council is agreeing to something that I proposed a long time ago."

"Have the artifacts of power been permanently neutralized?" Oculus asked.

Spatia nodded and smiled. "They are now nothing more than worthless trinkets."

"Excellent!" Oculus declared before turning to leave. "I will be sure to inform the Observant High Council of your success. We thank you for your assistance in this matter."

Oculus floated to the exit of the tower and disappeared. Dan grinned as he casually twirled one of the now-useless artifacts around his finger. "That was quite an exhilarating battle!" he commented with a savage joy. "It was something that I of course accomplished once before during my reign of terror, but I am very pleased that I have been able to repeat MY history and MY victory, however minimally."

"Consider it a reward for…good behavior," Clockwork answered, his face betraying nothing.

Spatia frowned and glared at Dan, but the only thing she muttered was, "for a certain definition of good, anyway."

The neigh of a horse interrupted them as the Fright Knight strode into the tower on his terrifying steed. "My lord Clockwork," he bowed, "you called for me?"

"Yes, I have a very important task for you. Send word throughout the Ghost Zone that I wish to see all of the ghosts at Pariah Dark's Keep by 5 pm. Make sure that they are aware I will be addressing them on the matter of the utmost importance."

The Fright Knight bowed. "It will be done, my lord," he swore before mounting his steed and flying back out of the tower.

"I am glad that we did what we did, brother," Spatia commented. "No one mere mortal or ghost should have access to too much power. Fortunately, the young Phantom child took care of part of that problem when he destroyed my Reality Gauntlet."

"That is very true, sister," Clockwork agreed, "and thanks to our actions, along with the Reality Gauntlet's destruction, no being will have access to such power ever again."

/

So what are the Primordials, Dan, and the Observants up to? You'll have to wait til the next chapter to find out!

Ember's back! And Danny's completely another third of his realm! It won't be long now until the whole thing is completed!

Read and review please!


	15. Chapter 15 - Fall of the Ghost King

A/N: Finally done with my spring quarter of college!

Danny being trapped in the Ghost Zone would be a good time for him to bond a little more with his friends, especially Ember :)

Chapter 15 – Fall of the Ghost King

_The DP Mansion_

It was surprisingly easy for Danny to forget that the friends that he was hanging out with were ghosts who had once been his enemies. The morning had started out with a routine not unlike the one he'd often shared with Tucker and Sam, playing video games and otherwise hanging around in Danny's house. The fact that Tucker and Sam had been replaced by Ember, Kitty, Youngblood, and one hour later Johnny didn't seem to particularly register with him or strike him as odd.

"That's a good thing though," he thought with a smile. "Means I'm already getting used to having them as friends."

Of course, playing video games was bound to get boring sooner or later, especially without Dani around since she had departed for the Far Frozen about an hour ago with Wulf accompanying her "just in case." Danny had instead chosen the early afternoon as an opportunity to show his ghost friends around the park he had created. They'd decided to spend the rest of the morning just lying down on the park benches and relaxing on the grass that Danny had created. And that was when Ember had blurted out that Danny could play the electric guitar. You didn't have to be Clockwork to foresee what would happen next.

"Oh my God!" Kitty squealed. "Play more, play more!"

Danny chuckled as he let out another tune on his guitar. He'd planned to keep it just a secret between him and Ember, but the power of girl gossip trounced secrecy any day. Of course Ember had told the rest all about his little performance yesterday, and naturally they were dying to hear his music themselves.

"You and Ember should totally rock out at a concert or something!" Youngblood chimed in enthusiastically. "Your fame wouldn't just go through the roof, it'd blast all the way to the Disasteroid!"

Danny made a face. "I hope not!" he retorted jokingly. "I do NOT want to see that Froot Loop anytime soon! Scratch that, anytime EVER!"

"Guy was a real jerk, wasn't he?" Youngblood agreed, with surprisingly more venom than the other ghosts were expecting to hear from him. Sure, they all knew that adults pissed him off; it wasn't like adults didn't annoy them too, either alive or dead. But they weren't expecting Youngblood to sound like he had a personal grudge against Plasmius.

Danny flashed a warning gaze to Youngblood not to say anymore before continuing to absentmindedly strum on his guitar. He was about to ask Ember for requests when suddenly his ghost sense went off.

His eyes narrowed and his body tensed. Thanks to his training with Clockwork, his ghost sense had become more refined and he could now detect more specific traces of nearby ghosts then simply "a ghost is here." It wasn't a perfect tracking device by any means, but it was able to distinguish some ghosts from others. And Danny could sense that the approaching ghost was very different and MUCH more powerful than his new friends.

Johnny was the first to see the new arrival, and his eyes widened in horror as he rushed to his feet. "Look out, guys!" He shouted. "It's the Fright Knight!"

Ember's eyes shot upward and she instinctively grabbed her guitar. "What do you want?" she growled at the armored ghost, though everyone could tell that she was just as nervous as the rest of them.

"At ease," the Fright Knight replied coolly. "I merely wish to deliver a message on behalf of my master, Lord Clockwork."

"Clockwork?" Danny repeated incredulously, before he remembered that, yes, as of this moment the Fright Knight was indeed serving under Clockwork. "What does Clockwork want?" he asked, matching the Fright Knight's glare evenly but not showing too much hostility.

"My lords, the Primordials of time and space, have called for the population of the Ghost to gather at the Ghost King's castle," the specter of Halloween declared. "Your attendance is mandatory, and failure to comply will be punished severely." He narrowed his eyes. "You would do well to attend."

The group of ghost and half-ghost friends looked at each other warily, unsure of what to make of this development. Finally, Danny stepped forward and nodded at the Fright Knight. "If Clockwork wants us there, then we'll be there by 5."

"A wise decision," the Fright Knight coolly replied, before riding off to deliver his message elsewhere.

Danny looked at his new friends with a confused expression. "Uh…" he muttered, "…has anything strange been happening with Pariah Dark lately?"

Ember snorted. "Hell no, dipstick! Ever since you locked him up again, everybody's been staying the hell away from that castle. I don't think anybody apart from the Observants has been there within the last couple of months!"

"They couldn't possibly be…releasing him, right?" Danny asked worriedly. Like Clockwork, he had his skepticism about the Observants' motives, but he highly doubted that they'd be stupid enough to actually release the Ghost King again…or at least he hoped not.

"Nah, man," Johnny shook his head, "the Observants don't have anything to gain and they've got a lot to lose from letting Pariah run amuck. There's a rumor going around that Clockwork wanted to obliterate the king's soul as punishment," he shrugged, "but if it's true nobody ever acted on it."

Ember looked at her watch. "Think we should head out there now?" she asked. "It's 3 PM and it'll take a while for us to get there. I mean, I can teleport and all, but the rest of you…"

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "I'm not planning on doing anything important around here. Besides I'm kinda curious to know what Clockwork wants to see us all about. Bet it has something to do with that storm."

"Storms like that hardly ever happen anymore," Kitty pointed out as they prepared to leave, "so whatever happened a few hours ago, it's gonna be a huge deal."

_Pariah Dark's Castle_

"Holy crap!" Danny exclaimed as he tried to register what he was seeing. The Castle was all but surrounded by ghosts, many of whom were muttering and murmuring amongst themselves in what appeared to be confusion and curiosity. The last time he'd seen this many ghosts was when he'd captured them in order to save the Disasteroid.

"The Fright Knight sure wasn't kidding when he said he wanted ALL of the Ghost Zone here," Ember commented. "Wanna try and get a closer view?"

The five of them managed to weave around the crowd of ghosts the best they could until they reached the front of the crowd. Everyone's eyes widened in shock at what they saw.

"Holy…" Johnny muttered.

Standing in front of the gates of the castle was Clockwork, right next to an ornately robed female-looking ghost who Danny suspected had to be Spatia. Next to them were ten Observants, five on each side. The halfa shuddered when he realized that Dan Phantom was standing to Clockwork's right, his arms folded as he smiled malevolently at his younger self. But what really took Danny's breath away was that the Ghost King's castle had been almost completely destroyed. All that was left of the once mighty palace were piles of red bricks and the ruined remains of fallen towers.

"Is it just me, baby pop, or did somebody take a giant sledgehammer to Dark's Keep?!" Ember exclaimed.

"And tossed in a couple tons of dynamite for good measure!" Danny added. "What the heck happened here? And why is my evil side with the Observants and Clockwork?"

"We're about to find out," Ember answered grimly as the Fright Knight suddenly landed in front of Clockwork.

"SILENCE!" he bellowed. Immediately everybody shut up. "As you know, I have called the Ghost Zone here on behalf of Lord Clockwork," he announced. "Many of you are confused about recent events and occurrences. Fortunately for you, the Ghost Council has seen fit to reveal the relevant information at this time. So pay attention, remain silent, and show your respect!"

The Fright Knight turned and galloped behind Clockwork, who at this point was floating forward in front of the rest. The Master of Time nodded his approval at the Fright Knight before he began his announcements.

"I would like to offer you my thanks for your patience," Clockwork spoke. He never raised his voice to a shout, and yet his voice seemed magnified in a sense so that it easily reached the entire crowd. "I have no doubt that many of you are curious to know the reasons why a supernatural storm of such massive proportions spread far and wide throughout the Ghost Zone. Some of you have even attempted to launch your own investigations. Your waiting ends now."

Clockwork gestured to the assembled line of Observants. "Several centuries ago, the Observants and I held a council to discuss whether or not to permanently destroy the former Ghost King, Pariah Dark, and banish his soul into oblivion. I was in favor of his destruction, while the Observants were opposed to what they deemed to be a needlessly drastic action. The social hierarchy of the Ghost Zone at that time dictated that a King would always sit on the throne, and there were some timeline possibilities where a King even worse than Pariah would succeed him. So we decided to merely keep him sealed away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep."

"So it WAS true!" Johnny gasped loudly enough for only his friends to hear him.

"Shh!" Kitty scolded, glaring at her boyfriend. "I want to hear this."

"With the passage of time comes great changes, both in the world of the living and the realm of the dead," Clockwork continued. "The accidental freeing of Pariah Dark by Vladimir Plasmius instigated a rethinking of our former policies regarding the Ghost King's punishment, along with several new debates and discussions. And, quite recently, the Observants and I agreed to administer the most severe form of punishment that a Primordial can inflict upon a ghost for the most heinous and wicked crimes."

Gasps of shock echoed throughout the crowd. Surely he didn't mean…

"Earlier today, the Empress Spatia and I arrived at the palace to banish Pariah's soul into oblivion. The Ghost King invoked an ancient custom and demanded the right to battle for his continued existence against a ghost of our choosing."

During the entirety of Clockwork's speech, Dan had been silent with a neutral expression across his face. At the mention of this, however, his frown broke into a malicious, fanged grin as his crimson eyes blazed with triumph. Dan let out a low, menacing laugh that chilled Danny's ectoplasm to the very core.

"He tried," Dan hissed, "and he failed. I crushed his ambitions and his power underneath my foot once before, in a time when I ruled supreme. And the challenge he posed this time around was no greater than the last."

"That will do," Clockwork interrupted evenly, though Danny could read the warning in his voice. Dan glowered but backed off without protest. "Pariah Dark lost his trial and he was obliterated by me and Empress Spatia. Unfortunately, when the Ghost King was destroyed, the centuries of power accumulated within him erupted free from the bounds of his ectoplasm, destroying the palace in an initial explosion and afterwards wildly spreading throughout the Ghost Zone to rejoin with the dimension after so many years. That unchecked power manifested itself in the storm that you witnessed earlier."

A great cheer erupted from the crowd much to Danny's surprise. "Why are they so happy?" he asked Ember confused as the crowd celebrated the doom of the Ghost King.

"I don't know much either, baby pop, since I died fairly recently compared to the rest," Ember admitted, "but from what I can tell all of the ghosts REALLY hated Pariah Dark. He was a complete ass from what I heard, and judging by what I saw for myself I have to say I agree with them."

"I don't like how they used Dan for the trial though," Danny grumbled. "If you ask me, the less anyone sees of him in the Ghost Zone, the better."

Ember placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "At least Clockwork's got him on a tight leash," she tried to assure him. "As much as I know you won't like to hear it, dipstick, whatever deal Clockwork struck with Dan seems to be working out really well for everyone. Ever since Dan got started hunting criminals, the crime rate in the Ghost Zone's dropped by over 80 percent in the last three days!"

Danny looked up at her in astonishment. "You're kidding," he replied dumbly. Even with a half-ghost superhero and regular hauntings, Amity Park's crime rate had never dropped that low.

"No lie," the ghost rocker shook her head, "The fact that Dan's an evil bastard means he won't hesitate to smash the living crap out of anybody Clockwork sends him at. You've gotta understand that Dan Phantom isn't the only evil ghost out there, dipstick. There's plenty of ghosts that want to make the GZ a living hell for the rest of us. The difference between Dan and the others is that Dan's a hell of a lot more powerful than the rest of them combined…and he's completely under the control of one of the _good guys_," she fingered the term in air quotes.

Danny grimaced, but if he was completely honest with himself he could see Ember's point. With his very existence in the palm of Clockwork's hand, Dan would never be able to harm an innocent ever again. And when it came to hunting down scum with even less morals than him in their own ways, Dan's own lack of ethics made him the best kind of hunter. The kind that would make everyone else so terrified that they'd keep themselves in line just to avoid getting their ectoplasm splattered throughout the Zone. "I don't know how Clockwork managed to put someone like Dan to good use," Danny said before turning his attention back to his mentor, "but it won't ever change the fact that to me he'll always be a monster."

Ember didn't have anything to say to that, and the two of them simply waited in silence as the celebrations died down. "The eruption of power has affected the Ghost Zone in many ways," Clockwork explained. "The first is that the link between the Ghost Zone and the human world has been drastically weakened, to the point that every portal allowing transportation between the two has been cut off. This is one of the main reasons I have summoned Empress Spatia…" the crowd gasped but Clockwork ignored them, "to the Zone pre-emptively. The other major change is one that was unofficially in place for a long period of time, but has now stabilized into fact with the death of the King," the Master of Time continued. "There was no King of the Ghost Zone ever since the fall of Pariah, and from this point forward there will never be. Firsthand experience has proved to us, time and again, that excess power in the hands of one corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Ghost Zone has functioned quite well under the indirect leadership of the Ghost Elders, and that is how it shall remain. The Ring of Rage was destroyed along with Pariah, and the Crown of Fire has been drained of its power, a worthless ornament from an era gone by."

When he finished speaking, Dan stepped forward and opened his hand upward. Danny and the rest of the crowd gasped as they realized that the Crown of Fire was resting on his palm. But the Crown itself looked vastly different than what Danny was used to seeing. The flames had been completely extinguished, and the pristine crown had dulled with cracks beginning to form across it. The crowd of ghosts watched, stunned, as Dan suddenly set his hand ablaze and crushed the Crown of Fire in his hand. He grinned as he overturned his hand and opened it again, letting the pieces of the destroyed crown fall silently onto the ground. "Perhaps serving as Clockwork's dog for the rest of eternity isn't so bad after all," Dan thought as he savored the awestruck and terrified expressions of the ghosts before him.

At this point, Empress Spatia was now moving forward to address the crowd, while Dan retreated back to Clockwork's side. "Ahem!" she cleared her throat. "Clockwork and I will begin repairing the connection between the Earth and the Ghost Zone as soon as possible. Even with our combined power and efforts, however, it will take at least one day for us to carry out our work, possibly more."

"I guess I'm staying at the mansion tonight then," Danny thought grimly.

"Do ya need someplace to stay, little man?" Johnny offered with surprising concern.

"I've got my own place for now," the halfa replied, "but if I end up getting stranded here for a couple of days I might drop by some of your places."

Johnny nodded and lightly tapped Danny's shoulder. "Feel free to come by anytime, Phantom."

Spatia's voice cut in through the conversation. "There is also one more matter to discuss before we allow you to disperse," she declared. Then, to Danny's total amazement, she looked straight at him through the crowd. "Daniel Phantom. Please rise and stand before me now."

/

Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, I've been really busy lately. And since I'm going away for the summer, it might be a while before another chapter appears after this one.


	16. Chapter 16 - Champion of the Primordials

A/N: Updates will be less frequent during the summer. That doesn't mean, however, that they will be absent

Chapter 16 – Champion of the Primordials

"Daniel Phantom," Empress Spatia called out, "please rise and stand before me now!"

Danny suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable as all eyes of the Ghost Zone turned towards him. "Get moving, baby pop!" Ember hissed at him. "Do you really want to keep someone on par with Clockwork waiting?"

Wordlessly, the halfa floated to the front of the crowd and up to the same level as the Primordials. Spatia looked down at Danny directly into his eyes. "So…" she said quietly in a voice that only Danny could hear, "you're the half-ghost child who destroyed my Reality Gauntlet, aren't you?"

"Uh…yeah…I am," Danny replied sheepishly. He knew that trying to lie to an omniscient being was probably not the best of ideas.

Spatia smiled. "Well then, thank you for saving me the trouble of doing it myself," she whispered back before raising her voice back to audible level. "Danny Phantom, we the Primordials and of the Ghost Council are very pleased with you and your actions over the past few years. You have faced and conquered challenges that would have crushed the wills of older and wiser beings, and all while using your powers consistently and selflessly for both other humans and ghosts at great risk to your own well-being."

"I…I haven't done that all the time…" Danny mumbled. His eyes shifted towards the waiting gaze of his evil alternate self, who grinned coldly back at him.

Clockwork shook his head. "Everyone makes mistakes, and no being, not even us Primordials, can claim to be perfect," he replied. "The important thing is that you realized the dangers of abusing your power and struggled with all your might to rectify that mistake. I merely ensured that you would not suffer greatly for stumbling in the first place."

"The creation of Dan Phantom may have almost been devastating for you, Daniel," Spatia continued, "but it is only one drop of failure in a long history of heroism and noble deeds. And even then, we have turned the consequences of that failure into a powerful tool serving the greater good."

"Not by choice," Dan snorted, "but I'm not suicidal enough to attempt otherwise."

Spatia ignored him. "But enough about the Dark Phantom. We are not here to talk about him, but about you, Danny. The Ghost Council and the Primordials have decided, at long last, to reward you for your service and your good heart. You have already received the first part of that reward, correct?"

"My own realm," Danny confirmed. "Clockwork took me over there and showed me how to create it."

"Good," Spatia smiled. "My brother did not waste any time in delivering it to you. But that is only the beginning. You have directly saved the Ghost Zone multiple times, and have received nothing but abuse and harm from many of its denizens. That is not proper justice, and we have decided to put an end to it, once and for all."

At this, many of the ghosts began to mutter and murmur amongst themselves. Many of them, as enemies of Phantom, loved to either fight him for the sake of fighting him (like Skulker) or saw him as an obstacle to world conquest or power. Did this mean that their plans were about to be crushed permanently?

"Even if Daniel Phantom had never come to be," Clockwork proclaimed, "hostile interaction between the realms of the living and the dead should be kept at a minimum. If we had wanted to, we could have ended your plots long before they even came to surface. Some of you," his eyes narrowed, "might remember one such time."

A few of the ghosts paled (more than usual) at the memory, especially Skulker. It had taken weeks for him to fully repair his suit after the Master of Time had utterly wrecked him. "One of the reasons why we permitted your little plans to unfold was to train the half-ghost child indirectly and allow him to gain the power and strength necessary to face much greater threats, such as the Ghost King. But now that Danny Phantom has developed into a powerful and wise warrior and leader, it is time to put an end to your foolish ambitions of dominating and antagonizing the world of the living and its protector. Sister, do the honors."

Spatia nodded and lifted her staff towards the halfa. "Daniel Phantom, on behalf of the three Primordials and the Ghost Council, I bestow upon you the title of Champion of the Primordials."

The crowd instantly erupted into an uproar. "HIM?" Skulker roared angrily. "What makes him so special that he gets that kind of glory and prestige?"

"You're giving that ghost child power over us, and he's not even a full ghost!" Technus screeched. "How is that fair?"

"SILENCE!" the Fright Knight roared. "How dare you disrespect the decision of the Primordials in this manner!"

Spatia's eyes narrowed. "Do you think I cannot see through your pathetic motives?" she snarled, her friendliness from earlier gone in an instant. "You only protest because you can no longer indulge your own selfish desires." The Queen of Dimensions looked over at Dan, who to Danny's surprise also seemed furious at the ghosts' disrespect. "If they start complaining again, teach them a lesson…within reasonable limits."

"My pleasure," he snarled. "When these arrogant, pathetic ecto-slime disrespect my past self," Dan thought angrily, "by extension they disrespect me as well. And while my weaker self might be willing to tolerate their inane babblings, I'm going to enjoy pounding their pride into oblivion the moment one of them dares to speak again."

The fear of Dark Danny's wrath must have been very great indeed, because the ghost crowd silenced itself almost instantly. Even Ember, Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood, who now supported Danny as his friends and therefore were in no real danger, were greatly unnerved by Spatia's threat. "Wow, I am REALLY glad I gave up on the whole world conquest thing before today," Ember thought.

"Now then," Spatia's tone lightened as she turned her attention back to Danny. "As Champion of the Primordials, Danny, you will gain power and glory, but not without responsibility. You have taken it upon yourself to act as protector of the human world, and should you accept the mantle of Champion you must serve as protector of the Ghost World as well."

"So…" Danny smirked, "nothing would really change there, would it?"

Spatia laughed. "No, young Phantom, I suppose not. But for the sake of official process, do you accept this responsibility?"

Danny shrugged. "Sure," he replied, "I'll gladly do it. It's not like I haven't been already."

"Excellent!" Clockwork approved. "In exchange for your service, you have now been granted a seat upon the Ghost Council and all the appropriate privileges."

"You mean like Pandora, Frostbite, the Observants, and you?" Danny asked in amazement.

"That is correct!" one of the Observants confirmed. "However," he added a bit smugly, "do keep in mind that as the youngest member, you will still hold a lesser rank than the rest of us."

Danny rolled his eyes but didn't say anything against the floating eyeball. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes," Clockwork nodded. "From this point forward, you now represent the Primordials and have gained their favor and protection. Any being that dares antagonize you or the human world to a great degree, without proper justification, now antagonizes the Primordials themselves," his eyes flashed dangerously, "and will be dealt with accordingly."

Danny shivered (along with many other ghosts) at the sudden menacing tone in the Master of Time's tone but forced himself to calm down. "Anything else?"

"Just one more thing that I will speak to you privately about," Spatia answered. She quickly erected a dimensional bubble around them that blocked out most of the other ghosts. The only ones allowed to witness her next words were herself, Danny, Clockwork, Dan, and the Observants. "Although he holds a great deal of respect and care for you, Danny, Clockwork will not allow you or anyone else power over time itself."

Danny shrugged. "Fine by me," he replied, "I get why he decided that, and he's done awesome in helping me with other things."

Empress Spatia nodded. "My other brother, Thanatos, has not yet decided whether to grant you powers or not, though he does send his congratulations to you for your new position. But as for me…I will be granting you a small amount of reality warping powers within the week."

Danny's eyes widened. "You mean like the Reality Gauntlet?" he asked, stunned.

She nodded and smiled. "I believe that you can be trusted with such power. Do not worry about being corrupted or losing control, the power I will grant you is minimal so that any of the Primordials, not just myself, will be able to effortlessly counteract any damage you may potentially cause."

Danny gestured over Dan. "Me getting those powers doesn't mean he does, right?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," Clockwork, Spatia, and some of the Observants all said at the exact same time.

"Bah," Dan muttered, "none of you are any fun."

All of them ignored him. "That should be all," Spatia declared as she lifted the bubble. "Do you have any statements you wish to say to the crowd, Danny?" she asked him.

"Uh…heh heh…sure," Danny sheepishly answered as one of the Observants leant him an Ecto-microphone. He took the microphone and briefly looked around at the basis of the ghosts. Some of them to his surprise were actually content or even happy, no doubt since they appreciated the halfa saving the Ghost Zone multiple times. Others, like Skulker and many of his current enemies, were glaring angrily at him, no doubt because of years of animosity and also the fact that any chance they had of "hanging his pelt on a wall" or "taking over the world" had pretty much gone down the drain. The vast majority of the ghosts, however, were simply watching him carefully, waiting to see what the new Champion of the Primordials was about to declare.

"Uhm…ever since I got my ghost powers and my mom and dad opened the ghost portal," he began, "I've been having to fight ghosts pretty much every day of my life. And this might be a surprise to you, but I'm actually fine with that."

Many of the ghosts gasped in shock. "Wait, what?" the Box Ghost spluttered, though obviously Danny wouldn't be able to hear him from that distance.

"I don't want to start my new job as Champ of the Primordials with everyone here hating me. Some of you probably don't care about the human world at all, and if that's the case you don't even have to listen to what I'm about to say. And sometimes you guys are just blowing off some steam as much as you're trying to take over the world," Danny explained. "I honestly don't have a problem with ghosts coming into the human world by itself. Heck, I don't even really have a problem with having ghost fights every now and then. It makes life interesting and keeps me on my toes. And I already know how boring life in the Ghost Zone can be. So if you want to scrap a little, that's fine. It really is. I don't mind throwing around the good ol' routine."

His eyes instantly hardened, and then, to everyone's astonishment, glowed the same bloody red as his evil self's eyes. "But there's one thing I want EVERYBODY here to understand," he added, his voice several times more threatening than it had been seconds before. "You want to scrap with me, no problem. But you better make sure you leave the rest of my world out of it. Because I swear, in the name of the Primordials, that if anything ever happens to a civilian or someone I care about, human or ghost, I won't be the one to kick your butt, oh no. I will personally drag your carcass before my dark half and watch as he makes you pay." He glared at them all. "That is a promise."

The entire audience shuddered in horror at the unexpected menace in the halfa's tone, and even Dan snapped out of his growing boredom at Danny's words. "What's this I hear?" he thought, "If my ears aren't mistaken, it sounds like my weaker self just used his new position of power to threaten all of the Ghost Zone with me!" He grinned. "That kind of ruthlessness reminds me of…well, myself. Perhaps he isn't quite as pathetic as I originally believed, even if his motives are so disgustingly altruistic in the long term."

Danny's eyes fell on Ember and his new friends for a brief moment, and to their relief his eyes softened. "I'm trying to give every ghost a chance, even my enemies," he concluded. "Just don't give me a reason to regret it, and we'll get along just fine." With that, Danny turned the microphone back over to Clockwork.

"Thank you," the Master of Time spoke coolly and evenly. "Before we conclude, I would like to ask you one question. For those of you who deem Phantom unworthy of the title of Champion, ask yourself this. Would you have been able to defeat Pariah Dark at great personal risk, or even have enough courage to so much as try? Would you devote your life to serving the greater good, especially when it comes to saving a population that scorned and hated you for an extended period of time? And would you be willing to give your enemies a second chance if you had gained the power to dominate them, instead of unleashing your vengeance as soon as you possibly could? If you still think Phantom does not deserve his new status after answering these questions, then you are only lying to yourself."

"Our audience here is concluded," the Fright Knight proclaimed. "Return to your business, but do not dare attempt to disturb the peace while our masters the Primordials repair the link between the realms of the living and the dead. Doing so risks facing punishment at the hands of Walker…if you are lucky. DISMISSED!"

The ghosts began to disperse, talking amongst themselves as they did so. As Danny stepped down to rejoin his crowds, he caught wind of what they thought about his promotion. Several of them were clearly fuming at the increased regulations and/or the ascension of their enemy to such a position of honor, but many more were neutral on the matter and some were downright happy with the Primordials' choice. But that didn't matter to Danny at the moment.

"All right, baby pop!" Ember cheered as she offered a fistbump to him, which he gladly returned. "Let's hear it for the new big shot of the Ghost Zone!"

"Congrats, Danny!" Kitty exclaimed as she high-fived the new Champion of the Primordials. "I'd like to see someone try and mess with you now!"

"Yes…." a deep voice hissed from behind them. "Congratulations indeed."

Danny paled as he realized who was speaking to him. "What do you want, Dan?" he spat, trying to hide his fear.

"Merely to offer my sincere congratulations at your promotion," his evil self replied with a malicious smile. The strange thing was that, although the tone of his voice was clearly malevolent, it didn't seem…sarcastic. In fact, Dan seemed downright gleeful at the glory his younger self was getting.

"I'm not going to turn into you," Danny growled at him. "Not now, not ever."

"Oh, I know that," Dan hissed. "Clockwork's drilled that into my head over and over again. But I left more than just a wake of destruction behind in my future. No, I also left behind a legacy of power, fear, and respect. None dared to oppose me in my future, and the few who tried to do so paid the price. And come to think of it, that still holds true to this day!"

"Get to the point!" Danny snapped.

"Simply this," Dan explained with a smirk. "You are inheriting the legacy that I was forced to leave behind, whether you realize it or no. You didn't sense it in that little crowd? The position that Clockwork and Spatia gave you has also given you that which I once had and still have in a different form: power, respect, and most importantly, the ability to instill terror in your inferiors."

Ember couldn't keep silent any longer. "Are you deaf, dipstick?" she snarled. "Danny's said he'd be good, and that's exactly how he's staying. The chances of him abusing that new power of his is about as likely as Frostbite turning the Far Frozen into the new Sahara Desert! So get lost!"

"He doesn't have to abuse it, that's the real beauty of it!" Dan laughed. "They already fear him, dreading to know what they will face if they run his patience dry. Did you even hear yourself talk when you threatened to leave them at my complete lack of mercy if they dared to cross the line? Serve the greater good and purr at the feet of lesser beings if it that's what you want. Your standing with others now isn't so different than what it was when I ruled the world, and if that meddling Clockwork won't allow me to ensure myself as your future then I will gladly settle for this! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" he turned around and floated back towards the ruins of the castle.

"Don't listen to that jerk," Kitty said sharply. "He's just trying to ruin your moment."

"I know…" Danny sighed, "I'm not gonna agree with him, but he does have a point. I don't plan on turning into someone like Dan in a million years, but I'm still gonna have to be careful."

"You'll be fine, kid," Johnny assured him. "You've been doing this hero gig for too long to screw it all up now. Besides," he suddenly smirked, "the fruit loop is all the way up in outer space, how the hell is his ghost half gonna fuse with yours?"

"True…" Danny slowly began to feel his unease fade away.

Ember lightly slapped Danny's head. "Quit with the moping, baby pop, this is your moment!" she scolded. "Screw your evil self, screw Skulker, and screw anybody who doesn't have enough of a brain to realize you're a hero through and through! You deserve being the Champ, dipstick, and we're going to drill that into your head if we have to until you get the message!"

"You're right, Em," his eyes hardened with resolve. "You're right. I'm not gonna let that jerk or anybody else bring me down!"

"That's the spirit!" Kitty said approvingly. "Now let's hit your mansion and party all night!"

All of them cheered as they flew back towards Phantom's realm. Danny couldn't help but smile to himself as he flew into the Zone with his new group of friends. "They really are some of the best friends I could have asked for in the Zone," he thought contentedly. "Apart from maybe Sam, Tuck, and Jazz, I couldn't ask for anyone better."

_Ruins of the Ghost King's Castle, Thirty Minutes Later_

"Are you content with the day's turn of events?" Clockwork asked Dan. At this point, only he, Spatia, and the Dark Phantom himself were left in the shadow of the castle's ruins.

"Absolutely," Dan smiled coldly. "The fact that my younger self was actually willing to threaten his enemies with me if they stepped out of line was an unexpected bonus."

Spatia frowned. "Although I can understand why our new Champion made such a threat, I still find it uncharacteristically and perhaps uncharacteristically harsh," she commented. "Then again," she added with a sigh, "I suppose it doesn't really matter since the Council of the Ghost Elders was planning to drastically intensify punishments for such infractions into the human world anyway."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Clockwork asked Dan with a barely perceptible smugness. "You once sought to destroy everything your younger self ever loved, and now he is using you as the ultimate retaliation for anybody who does or plans to do the exact same thing."

"Destruction is all I am, and all that I need to be," Dan replied smoothly. "Whether it be the entire world in a future gone by or the criminals that you send me to punish, there is nothing that delights me more than their screams of despair."

"Speaking of which," Clockwork interrupted, "about those criminals that you mentioned. The Observants have suggested that you receive a title of your own as a…not a reward, per say, but more of a recognition for crushing some of the Ghost Zone's most dangerous villains…not the least of which includes Pariah Dark in his final moments."

Spatia crossed her arms. "He agreed to fight those battles only because he had little choice otherwise," she noted disapprovingly. "The only fight for which he deserves acknowledgement of any kind is his battle against the former Ghost King, and that is it."

"To be fair, sister, he volunteered to partake in that particular challenge and triumphed using only his own strength and skill." Clockwork pointed out. "I can count the number of ghosts on one hand who can boast the same. You can be rest assured that any title he receives will certainly not be on the same level as the halfa hero's."

"Certainly not, or else there is no justice in the afterlife," she retorted.

Her brother nodded in acknowledgment and turned to face Dan fully. "How would you feel with the title of…Ghostslayer?"

"Ghostslayer…" Dan repeated, feeling the word flow through his mouth. He grinned. "It has a certain…dark appeal to it."

"Good," the Master of Time curtly replied. "You can sort out the details with the Observants yourself, as they were the ones who wanted to give you a title in the first place.""

"So you're leaving me alone to deal with those eyeballs? Bah!" he growled in response, but he departed all the same. As he left, the Master of Time looked into the streams of time to watch his student and champion, floating happily alongside his friends.

"Rest well and enjoy yourself, Daniel," he thought with a smile. "You've earned it more than anyone."

/

All hail the new Champion of the Primordials! With his new position, Danny can finally get some rest from a difficult life made harder with all those ghost fights.


	17. Chapter 17 - Core Crystals

A/N: Yeaaaaaaaaah, I got nothing.

Chapter 17 – Core Crystals

_DP Mansion, The Next Day_

"Hrrraaaaaaaarrrggghhhh…" Danny yawned as he groggily rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"

As he slowly gathered his bearings, he realized he was lying down on a sofa in the living room of his mansion. His friends, still sleeping, were scattered all around the other sofas and couches: Johnny and Kitty predictably were cuddled together on one of the larger sofas, Dani and Youngblood had each claimed a couch for themselves, and Wulf was curled up on the ground almost like a regular dog.

"Wait a minute, someone's missing!" Danny thought. "Where's Em….gaaaaah!"

He barely restrained himself from yelping in shock as he found Ember sleeping on the other side of the very same couch that he was currently sitting on. "That answers my question," he thought. "I didn't think Ember would actually be sleeping right next to me though!" He looked back at the sleeping ghost rocker and couldn't help but smile despite himself. "She looks kinda cute like that, actually. I know I shouldn't be thinking about stuff like this, but I'd be lying if I said she wasn't one of the hottest ghosts I've met so far."

His miniature reverie was interrupted by the gradual stirring of the other ghosts. "Ugh…" Johnny muttered, "Man, that was some party. I think I had one too many cups of Ecto-alcohol."

"I told you not to drink so much!" Kitty scolded. "Now I have to drag your sorry rear all the way back to the lair!"

Johnny groaned. "Or I can just wait in Phantom's place until the hangover goes away."

Their argument finally kick-started Danny's memory. After the ceremony at the ruins of what had once been the Ghost King's castle, Ember and the rest of his friends had dragged Danny over to his mansion, where they had met up with Dani and Wulf. They had then thrown him a wild party to celebrate his new position as Champion of the Primordials. Johnny had quickly driven home and returned with a few bottles of Ecto-alcohol, which he, Kitty, and Ember had proceeded to down throughout the night.

"I can't believe I let Johnny convince me to take some of that!" Danny grumbled. Even so, he knew it was his fault for accepting a glass of it in the first place.

"Yo, baby pop!" It seemed that Ember had finally woken up as well. "That was some party!"

"I can't even remember half of it," the halfa muttered, but he couldn't help smiling. His friends had his best interests in mind, and he couldn't fault them for it especially since they had been enemies only a few days ago.

Even if they had completely trashed his living room in the process.

"Great…" Danny rolled his eyes. "Cleaning this place up is gonna be such a pain."

Wulf grunted and shook his head. _"Don't worry about it," _he replied in Esperanto. _"Enjoy yourself, Champion. I'll take care of it."_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Danny exclaimed. "You're not my janitor, Wulf! I'm not gonna just toss all of my garbage on your back, that's just not right!"

Wulf snorted, amused. _"There are ghosts who would bend down on one knee and beg to serve you in such a manner, Danny," he replied wryly. "I consider it an honor."_

The halfa threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine." He sighed. "If it matters so much to you, Wulf, then go ahead. It's not like I can complain about people wanting to make my life easier instead of harder for a change."

"I'm surprised you don't have to deal with people bowing at your feet every day of your life, dipstick," Ember commented with a smirk. "After all, you're the Savior of Amity Park, and pretty much the entire world!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "I've been keeping a low profile for the past couple of months," he explained. "Took way longer than I wanted, but the press finally got the message that I wanna be left alone. School's gonna suck though…"

Ember snorted. "Psssshhhh…baby pop, if you're not gonna be the most popular kid in school, then I have no idea who the hell is."

Danny shook his head. "I'm gonna be swarmed by fangirls and A-Listers trying to get me on the football team," he groaned. "I might as well say Sayonara to any chance of peace and quiet. How do you deal with this kind of thing every time you try to have one of your concerts?"

Ember eyes hardened. "It beats being nothing but a loser who couldn't get my dream until after I died," she muttered bitterly.

Danny winced. "Sorry…" he apologized, "I forgot for a moment how hard your life was."

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged, "none of it was ever your fault anyway."

Danny decided on the spot that it was time to change the subject. "So, are there any places to hang out in the Ghost Zone?"

Ember snorted. "I thought you knew the answer to that, baby pop. Isn't the whole point of making your island into the bar, park, and arena so that we'd actually have something to do apart from running amuck in the living world?"

"Yeah, but there has to be SOMETHING interesting around here," Danny pressed. "I mean, really! All I've seen are some of the ghost lairs, Walker's Prison, Clockwork's tower, the pile of rubble that used to be the Ghost King's Castle, Princess Dorathea's kingdom, Pandora's Acropolis, the Far Frozen, and that's pretty much it! You can't be telling me that there's NOTHING else interesting for me to see around here!"

Johnny perked up an eyebrow. "Hey Em," he called out, "we could show him the islands with those Core Crystals." He tried to get on his feet but instantly sat back down as pain blasted across his head. "On second thought," he corrected, "_you_ could show him the islands with those Core Crystals."

"Core Crystals?" Danny looked up instantly. "What are those?"

Ember gave him an incredulous look. "You honestly don't know, dipstick?"

"Nope."

"Wow. Okay," she decided, "I'll take you to some of the islands. Let's head out now, I need to move around a bit."

"And I'll watch over this lunkhead," Kitty smacked Johnny lightly on the head, who groaned but said nothing.

"Let's move, baby pop," Ember gestured towards the door. "I'm too tired to teleport right now and I can't take another person with me even if I wasn't."

Danny nodded and followed Ember out of the door. As soon as he was sure they were gone, Johnny instantly stopped clutching his head in pain.

"Heh…my plan worked perfectly," the biker ghost grinned.

"YOUR plan?" Kitty snapped. "I was the one who came up with it in the first place!"

"Okay, okay, it doesn't even matter who came up with it anyway," Johnny brushed the topic away.

"Yeah," Kitty smirked, "important thing is that Em and our new champ get some _alone time_ if you get what I'm saying."

"How long do you think it will take?" Johnny asked.

"As long as it needs to, Johnny," she replied. "As long as it needs to."

_Open Ghost Zone_

"Wow," Danny whistled as he and Ember flew through the zone. "The Ghost Council's really been cracking down on security lately!"

In sharp contrast to the mostly empty space that the Ghost Zone normally was, the Zone was now full of Walker's police guards and even some of Pandora's Greek monster servants. Danny floated up to one of the guards. "What's going on over here?" he asked.

"The Ghost Council's not taking any chances," he replied curtly. "Until the Primordials get their job done, the entire Zone is under maximum security. In fact, the only reason I haven't ordered you back to your lair is because you're the new Champion. All the same, I'm going to have to ask you to state for the record where you and Ember McLain are traveling to at this time."

Ember answered for him. "I'm showing him the Core Crystal Islands," she explained. "Believe it or not, this dipstick hasn't seen them yet."

The ghost cop raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "He hasn't been there yet?"

"Nope."

The cop shrugged. "Fine. Just make sure to stay out of trouble." He pointed in a seemingly random direction. "The islands are that way."

"Knew that already, but thanks for the tip," Ember replied as she pulled Danny's arm in that direction.

"So what's so special about these Core Crystals?" Danny asked as they flew on. "Are they actually based on, you know, ghost cores?"

Ember smirked. "You're not far off the mark, baby pop." She rolled her eyes in irritation. "Guess I'm gonna have to give you a history lesson now, aren't I? Since Clockwork's busy and all…"

She took a deep breath and began. "You know how each and every ghost has its own unique core?"

"Yeah," Danny confirmed. "Frostbite showed me my ice core, and unless I'm missing something big I'm pretty sure you and Dan both have fire cores."

"Yep," the ghost rocker grinned, "and proud of it! Anyway, there's a bunch of islands grouped together in a specific part of the Zone. They're completely empty except for the Core Crystals. There's different islands for each different kind of core: fire, ice, earth, energy, shadow, you name it!"

"So what's so special about those crystals?"

Ember looked a bit sheepish. "To be honest, Danny…not much. Not anymore. They used to be a really big deal. If you took a few, so long as they matched your core, you could become a complete powerhouse."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "_Used_ to? What happened?"

"Well…" Ember explained, "one of the reasons why Pariah Dark was so dangerous back in the day was because he took some of the crystals and their power for himself, baby pop. Once the Ghost Council locked him up, the Observants decided to have the Primordials drain their power."

The halfa snorted. "So the Observants actually did something smart for a change?"

His new friend smirked. "Yeah, guess you could say that. Anyway, they had Clockwork drain their power and then Spatia used her reality warping to change the crystals completely. Now they're just for show more than anything else." She rolled her eyes. "Figures they always have to run everyone else's fun."

"You can't really blame them though," Danny pointed out. "Would you want someone like _Dan_ getting his hands on those? He destroyed both the world and the Ghost Zone without ever touching those crystals at full power. Wanna think about what would happen if he _had_?"

Ember shuddered. "Good point. Now the Core Crystals don't really do nearly as much as they used to. I think using one might be able to heal you if you've got the right core or perk you up a bit, but yeah, that's pretty much it." She snorted. "Heck, I haven't even used them once in my entire afterlife, baby pop, not even after fighting you."

Danny looked a bit confused. "So…what was the point of bringing me here again?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Cause any ghost worth his or her salt has seen the Core Crystals and knows what they are, dipstick! C'mon, I'll show you a couple of'em."

Sure enough, they had arrived at a cluster of floating islands, each of them colored differently. A closer inspection of the islands revealed that they were actually covered in crystals large enough for Danny to pick up.

"That one's energy," Ember pointed to the island that was glowing a bright yellow. "It's one of the most common core types, baby pop. My old boyfriend has an energy core, and so does Technus and Kitty."

He smirked. "I can see that." He followed the ghost rocker away from the energy crystal island and to another one. This time, the crystals blazed orange and red, like…

"Fire?" Danny asked. Ember grinned.

"Hell yeah, baby pop!" she declared. "I've got a fire core and I'm PROUD of it!"

He smirked. "Knowing what I do about you, Em, I'd be very, very disappointed if you had a different core type." He approached the island a little more closely, but suddenly stopped when he realized that he was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable the closer he got to it.

"Whoa there, dipstick!" Ember warned. "You don't want to get too close to these. You're powerful enough not to get that hurt, but ghosts don't do well when they mix with crystals of the opposite type."

Danny instantly backed away. "I'll take your word for it," he replied. He looked around as if searching for something. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"What's got you all up in a twist, baby pop?"

"Where's the ice crystal island?"

Ember grimaced a bit. "Meh…since I'm a fire core like I said, I don't like hanging around that island any more than you'll like hanging around this one." She guided Danny over to an island that glowed a brilliant light blue. "Over there," she pointed.

"Sweet! Thanks, Em!" Right away, Danny knew that this was his kind of place. He reached out to touch one of the ice crystals, and it seemed to…resonate with him somehow. The moment he touched it, he could feel energy flowing into his body, making him feel more refreshed and energized than he had felt all day. "Awesome!" he grinned. "I feel great!"

The ghost rocker laughed. "Knew you'd like it, dipstick! Imagine what you'd feel like if these were the crystals before Clockwork and the Observants messed'em up!"

Danny waited until he had calmed down a bit before asking his next question. "So…" he began, "why hasn't everyone swarmed over here and taken all of the crystals? I feel like you could give me a hell of a hard time if you tried to fight me with one of these, if only because it would take me a lot more time to bring you guys down."

Ember frowned. "Believe me, baby pop, if I could've all the way back when we first fought, I would've," she admitted. "But unlike most of the other ghost realms, these islands are controlled by Clockwork and the Observants. It's against the rules to take them without their permission, and trust me when I say that _nobody_ wants to break the old timer's rules. Especially now that evil side of yours is under his control."

"But Clockwork wouldn't send Dan after somebody just because they tried to take a crystal!" Danny protested. "At least, I hope not…"

His friend shrugged. "Probably not, but nobody's dumb enough to take a chance. And even if people did take all of them, they'll regenerate by themselves every so often. The only ones who are allowed to take the crystals are the Far Frozen yetis, and that's only from the ice island."

"Really?" the halfa asked incredulously. Frostbite hadn't ever mentioned something like this, and he definitely hadn't seen these crystals before today. "What do they use them for?"

Ember snorted. "Are you kidding me, dipstick? Do you honestly think I'd ever go anywhere near that place in my right mind? I'd feel like crap every second I stay there, and if I was some weak, run-of-the-mill ghost instead of badass Ember McLain I'd be out like a light in an hour. No thank you, baby pop! The Far Frozen is not for me!"

"So what kind of place is your kind of place?" Danny challenged with a smirk.

Ember grinned. "To answer that question, baby pop, you're gonna have to take a little visit to my realm!" she declared.

Danny looked at her incredulously. "Are you actually inviting me to your realm, rock star?"

The ghost diva's response was surprisingly serious. "You showed me around yours without a problem, Danny. Wouldn't be fair unless I gave you a backstage pass for mine, right?"

Now it was Danny's turn to smile. "I've always kinda wondered what you did when you weren't trying to take over the world, rock star. Let's check it out!"

_Elsewhere in the Ghost Zone…_

Clockwork smiled as he watched Danny and Ember depart from the Core Crystal islands. While he wasn't necessarily planning for a romance to blossom between the two, at least not yet, their friendship was certainly growing in strength, and for him that was enough.

"Everything is as it should be," the Primordial of Time murmured to himself.

"Clockwork!" Spatia's voice lightly scolded. He forced his attention away from the new champion and back to his sister, who was waiting impatiently. "Let's refocus back onto the business at hand, please!" As happy as I am to see that you care about our new champion, the rift between Earth and the Ghost Zone isn't going to just repair itself at a rate that he'll find meaningful!"

Clockwork rolled his eyes. "I just can't catch a break, can I?" he muttered jokingly as he prepared to continue where he left off. After all, there was certainly much work to be done.

/

Been a while, hasn't it guys? XD

Not a lot of plot advancement, just some bonding between Danny and Ember :) You can't have a (legitimate) romance without friendship first, after all. Next stop, Ember's realm!

The Core Crystals will come into play later, by the way. If they weren't I would have skipped right over this chapter to Ember's realm.

If you're up for a little thought exercise, try to think about which ghosts have which cores (though I will say the Primordials don't have "cores" in the traditional sense since they're not really ghosts, at least not entirely)


	18. Chapter 18 - The Ghost Rocker's Home

A/N: So sorry for the long wait! I was busy with studying and taking the MCAT. But now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, I can get back to enjoying myself again!

Chapter 18 – The Ghost Rocker's Home

_The Ghost Zone_

"So where IS your realm exactly, Em?" Danny asked as the two of them flew through the zone. "I've seen a couple of them, but never yours."

Ember smirked. "Not too far away, baby pop. And don't worry, I know where I'm going."

The halfa looked questioningly at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, Em, but how do you know how to get back home considering how big the Zone is?"

She shrugged. "Every ghost has a sixth sense that lets them easily find places that they've already been to. I mean, think about it, baby pop. You know how to get to Clockwork's Tower, Walker's prison, your own place, and the Far Frozen whenever you want to and you've never gotten lost, right?"

Danny whistled. "Wow, so I've got my own built-in GPS? Sweet!"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Not so cool when everyone else here has it too, dipstick," she pointed out. "Anyway, we're right about…here!"

She approached one of the many doors that were spread out throughout the Ghost Zone. At first it looked no different than all the others, but as Danny floated up to the door he could see that it was actually more detailed. A carving of Ember's face had been inscribed near the top of the door with a star behind it, and a small banner with "Ember McLain" was just under it.

"Yeah, I know it's nothing like anything you've got, baby pop," Ember said a bit grumpily, "but it is what it is."

She grabbed the knob and pushed it open. Danny looked inside, expecting to see a massive studio. To his surprise, however, he found a relatively normal (though large) house.

"I never took you for someone who'd be satisfied with something normal, rock star," he said teasingly.

Ember shrugged. "Hey, even I need a break from the wild and crazy once in a while, dipstick." She approached the front door of her house, turned the knob, and characteristic of her fiery personality, kicked the door open.

One look inside Ember's house immediately told Danny that although the outside might look like nothing out of the ordinary, the inside was anything but. "Yeeeesh!" he exclaimed. "Your living room makes mine look like the King of England's!"

Danny had never seen a more disorganized and chaotically messy room in his entire life. Clothes were strewn all over the place, as were video games, music CDs, electronics, everything that you would expect to find in a teenager's room if it had been stuffed into a volcano just before it erupted. "How do you even FIND anything here?"

"Girl's intuition, baby pop. Don't you forget it!"

Ember guided Danny through the maze of assorted stuff. Danny instantly noticed a particular CD and picked up. "Is this…Dumpty Humpty?" he asked incredulously.

"Hell yeah, Danny!" she exclaimed as she snatched the CD out of Danny's hand. "Aside from me, they're the best! Heck, I was gonna show up invisible at that concert of theirs a few months back but then Freakshow ruined the whole thing."

"I'm glad you weren't there the first time he showed up. Cause let's just say you're not the only one who knows how to do the mind control thing."

Ember shrugged. "Doesn't really matter either way anymore, especially since he's probably pissed off at least two of the Primordials at this point. She guided Danny over the mess of stuff and into the kitchen.

"This is all so…normal." Danny said dryly. "Not what I was expecting from the ghost rocker of the GZ."

Said ghost rocker smirked. "What makes you think the rest of the house is normal?" she pointed out as she took out two hamburgers, a soda, and two packs of fries which glowed with faint ecto-energy. "You want one?"

"Sure," Danny took the offered food. "You know, eating too much of this won't exactly help out the whole hot ghost rocker image you're trying to set up."

Ember outright laughed at that. "I'm _dead_, dipstick. You think the type of food I eat matters? It's all ectoplasm in the end."

Danny frowned. "But then how…"

"How what, baby pop?"

"…maybe I shouldn't really be asking this…"

Ember glared at him. "If you wanna say something, dipstick, then just say it already."

Danny sighed. "All right, but don't say I didn't warn you." He took a deep breath and continued. "You know how Jazz told you that Dan tore out your vocal cords?" he asked.

His new friend's face darkened instantly. "Well, now I know why you didn't want to talk to me about this," she muttered. "Yeah, I know."

"Back in the future where Dan turned everything into a complete mess," Danny explained, "he also beat up a LOT of the ghosts that we know around here. And you…well, you looked…really different from how you look now."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" she asked. "What kind of different?"

"Well…the way your future self put it was…gone to seed," Danny finished lamely, not looking directly at her face.

Ember shuddered. Even if she'd never actually experienced that (at least in this timeline), she knew exactly what that phrase meant. And what Danny was asking. "Well…" she thought for a moment, "I guess the best way for me to put this would be…ghosts can still overeat. You know how if you eat too many of those Nasty Burgers, you're gonna get fat, right?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

"Same thing applies to ghosts and ectoplasm," Ember elaborated. "Putting too much of that stuff in you is gonna mess around with your system. Plus, music…" her voice suddenly sounded more timid and vulnerable for a brief moment, "music's all that I live for, Danny. If I lost that, then…"

"…you'd stop caring about everything else...including how you looked," Danny finished for her.

She nodded and suddenly glared at him, her regular attitude right back up. "Which is why I would've REALLY gone ballistic if you'd busted my guitar up, baby pop!" she snapped, and then her glare softened. "Good thing you didn't."

The halfa sighed. "I really shouldn't have brought this up in the first place," he muttered.

Ember shrugged. "Eh, it's not like it wasn't a valid question," she admitted. "Besides, people who can't even talk about tough crap definitely can't deal with tough crap. I thought a lot of things about ya before we started getting along, baby pop, most of which I probably shouldn't say out loud. But one thing I NEVER took you for was somebody who couldn't deal with tough crap."

Danny chuckled, feeling the tension start to drain away. "Yeah, I've dealt with a lot of that from a lot of people. Including you."

"Oh, you'll still be getting plenty of that from me, dipstick," she retorted. "Think I'm just gonna let you trash your guitaring after hearing that song from you the other day? Hell no!"

Danny smirked. "This is just cause you want me to boost your ratings, don't you?"

"Damn right," Ember replied, though both of them knew there was more to it than that.

"Hey, speaking of guitaring…" Danny suddenly realized. "Where do you keep all that music stuff anyway? I haven't seen anything like that around here so far."

"That's cause I keep all that stuff somewhere else." Ember tossed her fast food bag into the trash and dragged Danny back through the living room to a door. She grabbed the knob and pulled it open, revealing a set of staircases leading down into a…

"Basement," she pointed down the stairs. "Down we go, Phantom." The two of them floated down the stairs and into Ember's basement.

"All right!" Danny exclaimed. "Now THIS is more like it!"

Ember's entire basement, which was much larger than any basement Danny had ever seen prior to his own mansion, had been reconfigured into her music studio. There were several electric guitars lying around along with an entire drumset, as well as electrical equipment such as loudspeakers and amps. Surrounding the walls were several posters not just of Ember herself, but of several other famous rock stars and bands. One of them even had a picture of Dumpty Humpty.

"Wow," he whistled, "so this is where you and the band get together every time you try to get a performance up!"

"That's right, baby pop! Here's where all the magic happens!" the ghost rocker was about to pick up one of the guitars and toss it Danny, when suddenly her cell phone rang loudly in her pocket.

"Dangit!" she cursed. "Who the hell could that be?" she picked up the phone and she glowered at the caller ID. "Grrr…" she answered the phone. "Whaddaya want?" After a few seconds of listening, she snapped back, "Didn't I tell you earlier it was cancelled, dipstick? Besides, I've got somebody important back at my place. No, we are not doing a world domination plan ever again! Do you wanna be the one who has your face smashed in by Clockwork, Phantom, or Phantom's evil half like my idiot ex-boyfriend? If you really wanna be useful, then go figure out what the heck is going on with the Ghost Zone right now. Yeah, fine! Bye!" she slammed the cover of her phone down.

"Urrrggghhh…sorry about that," Ember muttered to Danny. "I thought I told my band I cancelled practice today, but apparently at least one of those idiots forgot."

"I wouldn't have smashed your face in!" he protested. "Heck, I didn't wreck your guitar when I could have."

"You might not," she countered, "but THEY would. Clockwork and the rest of the Ghost Council have gotten tired of us screwing around with your world, and everyone knows it. It used to be we could do whatever the heck we wanted to. Now, if you go too far, it _will_ bite you in the ass."

"You gotta admit there's a reason for that, though."

"Fair enough, baby pop," Ember had to concede. "Anyway, this is my music studio!" she declared as she gestured to the basement at large. "This is where we practice every time we want to get a song up and running in the world! Got everything we need, right here! Electronics, instruments, all the good stuff!"

"The guys in your band don't have their own instruments?" Danny asked, puzzled.

"Sure they do," Ember replied, "but theirs are extras in case the main equipment goes on the fritz. The best stuff's right here, and I keep a strict schedule with rehearsals. You wanna be a part of the Revolution, you better give as much as you get out of it! It goes for them, and when it comes to writing my songs, it goes for me too," she finished.

"Well Em," Danny said dryly, "I'm glad you have a bigger commitment to something other than world domination."

"Pffft…" Ember snorted, "when it comes down to it, dipstick, the only thing that really matters to me is music and making sure people know that I'm the best at what I do. I was doing concerts and rocking the charts long before I decided to go for the whole take-over-the-world thing. If the Ghost Council's putting the lid on that, fine! I got other things I can do."

"Like hanging out with the new Champ of the Primordials," Danny couldn't resist.

Ember rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, let's go with that."

"So…what's upstairs?" Danny asked. "Like, the second floor of the house?"

The ghost rocker shrugged. "A few bedrooms, bathroom, a smaller room for video games. Nothing special. The basement here's the heart and soul of the realm, Danny."

Ember picked up a pink guitar lying on the floor. "And this is _my _heart and soul."

"Uh…you know, if you value that thing so much, you probably shouldn't leave it lying around," Danny pointed out.

"I'm talkin' about my _real _guitar, dipstick," the diva countered. "This one's just a copy that I made a while ago. So long as the real one's fine, I can make as many as I need."

Danny now looked confused again. "But…if you can make copies, why would you ever bring out your real guitar when somebody could mess it up?"

She sighed, "Because it just isn't the same. Baby pop, if you ever make a copy of your real guitar, you'll notice the difference." She was about to say more, when suddenly the doorbell rang up in the first floor.

"Arrrrgggghhhh…" Ember snarled. "Did those idiots seriously not get the message that I want to be left alone right now?" She angrily floated up the stairs to the front door, Danny following close by.

"Whoever it is better be important," she growled as she swung the front door open. To her surprise, however, one of Walker's police ghosts was waiting. "Yeah?" she asked, although her tone wasn't as harsh as it had been.

The officer didn't blink an eye. "Walker sent me a notice and told me to get here as soon as possible," he curtly explained. "Phantom, Clockwork wants to see you. Immediately."

/

Sorry for the extremely long wait, guys. I've been really busy over the last couple of months.

Not a lot of action, just some friendly interaction between Danny and Ember and some exploring of Ember's lair.


	19. Chapter 19 - Dragons and Phantoms

A/N: Sorry I took so long with the update, I've had a lot of college issues to deal with lately.

I've decided to include Dan Phantom as one of the main characters in the story headliner since he's probably one of the most important characters outside of the main cast. Speaking of Dan Phantom, this and the next chapter will revolve around him more.

Chapter 19 – Dragons and Phantoms

_The Ghost Zone_

Danny was in relatively good spirits as he left Ember's realm and flew towards Clockwork's tower. "I wonder if Clockwork and Spatia are done with rebuilding the realm link," he thought. "Finally, after so many years of ghost fighting, I get to enjoy the easy life for a change!"

His thoughts were interrupted as his cell phone suddenly started ringing in his pocket. "Did I leave anything behind at Ember's place?" he thought blankly as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"DANNY!" a voice shouted at the other end. "WE'VE GOT TROUBLE! BIG TROUBLE!"

"Sam?" he spluttered in shock. "What's going on? Did something bad happen at home?"

"It's Dora!" Sam explained frantically. "I just got a call from her! Her kingdom's erupted into war!"

Danny's felt his blood and ectoplasm both run cold. "War?" he spluttered. "But I thought Walker's soldiers were keeping the peace while Clockwork and Spatia fixed up the Zone!"

"Walker doesn't have any jurisdiction in Dora's realm! Some jerks are trying to overthrow her and bring Aragon back into the throne! She called me and desperately asked me for help!"

"Why didn't I get her number myself?" he thought, furious at himself for not doing it sooner. Once Dora had taken over the kingdom, she had brought her subjects up to date with modern technology as best as she could. Although there were some things that they still weren't entirely comfortable with, they were definitely advanced enough to use cell phones, computers, and so on. Sam and Dora had exchanged numbers once she'd gotten settled as the ruler of her realm, but with so many ghost attacks to deal with Danny had completely forgotten to do the same. "I've gotta make things right!"

"Danny?" Sam's worried voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah!" He winced at how angry his voice sounded, though none of that fury was directed towards his friend. "I'm on my way there right now! Dora won't be fighting alone!"

"Thank you so much, Danny!" Relief flooded the goth girl's voice. "I'd help you myself, but your parents told me every link to the Ghost Zone was shot and Tucker's had to deal with the Guys in White at the mayor's office."

"Don't worry about it!" he replied as he sped off towards Dora's kingdom. "I'll make sure Dora stays safe!" He clicked the phone shut and focused on his journey.

"I'm sorry, Clockwork," he thought. "I know you wanted to see me, but my friends need my help, and I won't let them down!"

_Clockwork's Tower_

"A wise decision, my champion," Clockwork thought approvingly as he watched Danny on his screen. "You may have made one wrong decision in the past, but you are certainly making the right ones now."

Spatia frowned as the screen faded. "Why involve our champion in this rebellion?" she asked. "The Dark Phantom, or the Ghostslayer as he is now known, is already on his way there. In fact, I feel as though an encounter between Danny and Dan will lead to disaster."

"While their motivations are drastically different, their end goal of protecting Dorathea's reign is ultimately the same. I do not think that they will directly oppose each other."

Spatia didn't seem convinced. "But why allow such a confrontation to occur in the first place? There is nothing between the two of them but a history of despair and hate."

Clockwork smiled humorlessly. "I know that more than anyone else, Spatia. But this is something that must happen." His sister gazed at him skeptically, inviting him to explain further. "It is true that Danny defeated his older self and, with my help, managed to avert the terrible future which Dan sought to create. But deep within his heart and mind, he has not been able to fully overcome that terrible memory. A shadow of doubt and fear still dwells within him, not powerful enough to cripple his will but with enough strength to prevent him from finding peace within himself. The only way he can remove the chains of his past is if he comes to terms with his worst fear."

"Dan Phantom," Spatia finished, to which Clockwork nodded solemnly.

"Danny views Dan as nothing but a heartless monster, a creature of destruction who represents everything he is terrified of becoming and without any redeeming qualities whatsoever," Clockwork continued. "And he is fully justified in viewing Dan in this way. However, as long as he maintains this perspective, Danny will never be able to fully defeat his fear." He suddenly smiled. "But if his perspective of Dan were to change…"

"…then his greatest obstacle will be finally removed." Spatia frowned. "It sounds good in theory, but I wish you luck implementing that in practice."

"Danny has always possessed an unshakable resolve and a strong heart," was all Clockwork needed to say. "I have complete confidence in him."

"So how exactly do you plan on changing Danny's opinion of Dan?" she countered.

Clockwork pointed his staff at a screen, which showed Dan flying through the open Ghost Zone. "I don't have to do anything. By the end of the day, the one who will force Danny to rethink his perspective of his darker self will be none other than Dan himself."

_The Kingdom of the Dragon Lords_

As soon as Dora's kingdom came into view, Danny could instantly tell that something was wrong. Smoke was rising from its walls, and he could hear flames burning and steel clanging in the distance. His eyes narrowing with purpose, he increased his speed and flew faster towards the entrance to the kingdom. He found a menacing guard waiting at the gate carrying a heavy mace.

The guard's eyes narrowed as he saw Phantom approach. "Be gone, Phantom. This does not concern you."

Danny only responded with his own glare. "When my friends get involved, then so do I."

The guard lifted his mace and swung at Danny, but he was in absolutely no mood to play around. Danny reached up, grabbed the mace mid-swing, and ripped it out of the guard's hands. The ghost's eyes widened in shock, but it couldn't even process what had just happened as Danny smashed the stolen mace onto its owner's head, taking him out instantly. He floated towards the gate and smashed it open with one powerful ecto-fist.

The scene that Danny saw inside nearly made his stomach lurch. Several of the village buildings had been all but destroyed, and the townsfolk of Dora's kingdom were running around panicking, clearly in terror. Danny hurriedly flew down towards one of them. "Is everything all right?" he shouted. "Where's Dora?"

"She's battling Aragon's armies in front of her palace!" she responded frantically. "Please, Sir Phantom, help her!"

"I'm on my way!" Danny promised. The villager cheered as Danny flew as fast as he could towards the palace. Several times, he encountered a straggler from Aragon's forces who tried to attack him, but with little time to waste he dealt with them quickly and, if he had been aware enough to compare his current fighting style with the one he'd used two years ago, rather viciously. Of course, right now there was only one thing he was focused on right now, and that was keeping his friend safe and in charge.

When Danny finally arrived at the castle, he was struck dumb by the awe-inspiring sight in front of him. An entire army of medieval ghosts was marching towards the castle, and in front of the gates Dora stood alone in her dragon form, ready to face them all. Danny sighed with relief as he saw that, for now, Dora was still relatively unharmed and ready for battle. Her eyes lit up with joy as she saw Danny approach.

"Sir Phantom!" she called out happily. "Have you come to assist me?"

"Yep!" Danny called back as he soared over the army of Aragon's followers and the dragon queen at her side. "Let's kick their butts, Dora!"

The dragon nodded her head in agreement and unleashed a torrent of flame upon the first wave of ghosts. Several of them were blasted backward and smashed onto the ground, but the ones behind them launched themselves forward to attack. Danny quickly created an ecto-shield to block off ghost arrows and weapon attacks, before firing back with a volley of ecto-rays. He quickly adopted a fighting stance in front of Dora as the enemies grew closer.

"That all you got?" Danny taunted as he punched one ghost in the face with an ecto-energy strike, knocking him out cold. "You guys really are behind in the times!"

"You will pay for providing aid to the usurper!" an axe warrior snarled as he picked up a ghostly tomahawk from his belt and hurled it at Danny. The halfa only grinned as he reached out and grabbed the tomahawk midair, the weapon still spinning in his hand as his attacker stared dumbly at him.

"Nice try!" he shouted as hurled the tomahawk back at its owner. The stolen projectile smashed straight into his chest, the force of the impact sending him flying several yards into a building that immediately collapsed onto him.

Dora in the meanwhile had not been any idler than Phantom had been. She had apparently been training extensively in combat as queen of her kingdom ever since she'd been freed from her brother's mental chains, because now she had several new tricks and moves that Danny had definitely not seen before. Her fire breath was still as deadly as ever, but she was using her claws to rapidly and furiously strike down anybody who got too close to her. Danny had to duck as a warrior was sent flying inches over his head from one swing of Dora's claws. "Nice!" he cheered approvingly as he sent a thumbs-up at Dora.

The ghost princess only nodded grimly as she surveyed her enemies, several of whom were about to launch volleys of arrows at her. As they fired their projectiles into the sky, Dora folded her wings in front of her and a massive ghost shield formed around her, causing the arrows to bounce harmlessly off of her. Taking advantage of her defense, Danny created several cryo-energy disks in his hands and tossed them at the archers, scattering them into chaos and disarray to avoid his attacks.

"Bring up the ballistae!" one of the enemy captains shouted. Throughout the enemy ranks, several soldiers began to bring up the large siege engines, no doubt intending to snipe at them with their powerful spears.

Danny rolled his eyes. "You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned. "That's the best they could come up with?" He lifted his hand and, fueling his energy beams with his ghost core, fired several ice beams directly at the ballista. He did not stop channeling his attack until every siege engine had been drowned and frozen in ecto-ice, completely inoperable. Dora shot out several fireballs from her mouth, shattering the siege weapons into dust and ash.

"Skulker could come up with a better strategy than you morons!" Danny said mockingly as he adopted his battle stance again, ready to deal with the next threat. The army of traitors' resolve began to waver as Dora glared at them.

"You cannot stand against the two of us!" she proclaimed, eyes narrowed and burning with confidence and anger. "My wicked brother will never lay claim to the throne again. This is your last change. Begone from here, or we will show you no mercy!"

One ghost floated up in front of the rest of the army. Unlike the soldiers, he was relatively well-dressed in a noble's robes and carried an ornate staff, perhaps a chancellor of some kind.

"This kingdom belongs to Prince Aragon and Prince Aragon alone!" the ghost spat at the two of them. "You should have stayed in your place, princess, slaving at the feet of your superior. I will hurl your worthless carcass at the feet of your brother. We will never surrender!"

"Oh, but you will," a demonic voice, emanating with malice, echoed throughout the battlefield. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

All eyes turned to the source of the voice, and Danny's eyes widened in dismay as his worst fears were confirmed. "Ah, crud!" he thought frantically. "What's HE doing here?"

Dan grinned as he saw that he had everyone's attention. He pointed at the leader with one finger. "Chancellor Akeldama," the Ghostslayer hissed. "I remember you all too well, weakling. You and your dogs will lay down your weapons and leave, never to return. Or if you will not end your pathetic little fight, then _I_ will. Choose now."

Danny stared bewildered at Dan. Why the hell was Dan helping THEIR side? But he didn't have time to ponder the matter further. Akeldama was frothing with rage at Dan's threat.

"I will tear you to pieces, mongrel!" he snarled as he flew up to Dan's level, his staff glowing with green energy.

Dan grinned. "Strange. And here I was thinking that I was about to do the exact same thing to you." As Akeldama swung his staff at Dan's head, the Dark Phantom reached out and grabbed the staff mid-swing. Akeldama's mouth dropped open in fear; his staff was already charged with dangerous energy and should have crippled his enemy, but if anything, Dan was ENJOYING the pain.

"By and large I consider my weaker half a fool, but he was right about one thing: you really are behind with the times," he sneered. "You should have known better than to challenge the one who crushed the Ghost King single-handedly." He ripped the staff out of the Chancellor's head and held it in both of his hands triumphantly.

"Game over," he snarled as he snapped the staff in half. As Akeldama started babbling incoherently, Dan lifted the crystal headpiece of the staff and then ferociously smashed it onto Akeldama's head. The chancellor screamed as the unstable magic exploded into him, agony that only compounded as Dan punched him in the face and threw him onto the ground in front of his army. Everyone stared in horror as Dan started laughing at the broken, mangled figure writhing in agony in front of him.

"I'm going to say this one more time," he warned, his eyes glowing with menace, "and ONLY once. This little rebellion is over. The Ghostly Wail is just one way I can crush you all if you want to keep going. If you have even a sliver of intelligence, then run with your tails between your legs and Don't. Come. Back."

The entire army started screaming in panic as they scattered in different directions, doing whatever they could to get as far away from the living nightmare as they possibly good. Dan sneered contemptuously as he floated down to the fallen form of Akeldama and then gave Danny a mocking grin.

"You're still wondering what I'm doing here on the side of the _good guys_," he said the term mockingly in air quotes, "aren't you?"

"Uh…yeah?" Danny replied blankly. "I still don't know why you're even here in the first place!"

Agonized coughing interrupted Dan's answer as both Phantoms gazed down at the barely conscious Akeldama. Dan reached down and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up until he was staring at him at eye-level. "I think it's time we have a little history lesson. Or maybe I should say…an _alternate_ history lesson."

/

I originally had two separate versions of Dan's curb-stomping of Akeldama, one less violent (Ecto-stinger + punch) and one more violent (slash across his stomach followed by stab in the eye). The final version is a compromise of the two versions to make it more characteristic of Dan's brutal fighting style without going too overboard.

It's been a while since this story had a battle sequence, hasn't it?


	20. Chapter 20 - The Dark Phantom's Insights

A/N: Since I don't feel like writing my history essay or doing my Bio worksheet right now, here's another chapter!

If you look back at the last chapter, you'll find that the way Dan defeats Akeldama has been altered slightly.

Chapter 20 – The Dark Phantom's Insights

"Ah…" Dan Phantom sighed contentedly. "Seeing you, broken and helpless in my grip, Akeldama…it brings back so many memories. Memories of crushing all those who dared to oppose me when I was ruler of the world. And since Clockwork isn't meddling like he always does whenever he thinks I've screwed up, I guess he doesn't have a problem with what I'm doing here. Perfect!"

Danny bit back an angry retort at his evil self's words. Under normal circumstances, if Dan had attacked anybody like he had brutalized Akeldama, he would have leapt into action to try and save them from his clutches. But even though he was disgusted by Dan at the best of times, the halfa was still furious at the way Akeldama had insulted and spat at his friend so condescendingly. Combined with the fact that Dan's personality had_ marginally _improved under Clockwork's influence, and that was enough to barely, just barely restrain himself from coming to the corrupt chancellor's aid.

The Dark Phantom himself seemed quite relaxed and collected, as if there hadn't been a battle a few moments before. "There was a time," he began speaking conversationally, "when my weaker side's idiocy destroyed everyone and everything he cared about. A time when his despair led to his destruction and my creation. A time when I conquered both the Ghost Zone and the Earth as its supreme ruler."

Danny glowered at the memory of the Ghostslayer's actions as Dora listened uneasily. She knew who Dan Phantom was and (quite understandably) was fearful of his wrath, and yet she also possessed an almost morbid curiosity of what he had to say. What it was he had seen or done that had made him come to her aid in THIS time and place.

"And during my destruction of the world," Dan continued with a cold smile, "I encountered every person my weaker self befriended or battled, human or ghost. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they realized that Danny Phantom was gone forever, and I had taken his place." He smirked at Danny's horrified face.

"What did he do to them?" Danny thought agitatedly, his face contorted in fear at the gory and bloody stories he was sure he was going to hear. "They didn't deserve this!"

But what Dan said next shocked Danny out of his thoughts. "Everyone thought that my weaker self was an easy target, that they could do whatever they wanted to him," Dan mused aloud. "But everything changed once I came into the picture." A malicious smile stretched across his face. "There's something quite intriguing, not to mention entertaining, about forcing someone to look their own worst nightmare in the eye. I always found a good laugh in seeing who they really were when everything was stacked against them."

Danny was stunned at the Dark Phantom's words. He had expected bloody and gory stories about how Dan's ten year reign of terror, he had NOT expecting someone so violent and bloodthirsty to be speaking…almost philosophically…about it all.

The Ghostslayer noticed his past self's confusion and grinned. "Were you expecting me to be a mindless savage with nothing but destruction on his mind?" he asked mockingly. "Please. I'm far more intuitive than what I'm sure you give me credit for. Tell me, Danny…would you like to learn which of your friends and enemies were fighters, and which ones were _cowards?_"

The way he hissed the last word broke Danny's fury wide open. "Shut up!" the halfa yelled. "Don't you dare insult my friends like that! None of my friends are cowards! Not Tucker, not Sam, and not Valerie!"

Dan's raised his eyebrows at the Red Huntress' name. "Valerie?" he repeated with a grin. "Oh yes…you saw us fight all the way back then, didn't you? Ten years…from the moment I began my conquests Grey was always a thorn in my side. I had my bout of fun with Wisconsin after I tore apart that pathetic cheesehead's mansion, and then I decided to come back home and show Amity Park just what had happened to their beloved _hero_."

Dan's grin disappeared. "But Valerie saw what was happening to Wisconsin in the news, and she knew what was coming. She broke into the empty Fenton Works and activated that blasted Ghost Shield around the city. I had the sum total of Vlad Plasmius and your powers, but I wasn't strong enough to destroy that shield. I had to bring my reign of terror to the Ghost Zone first to increase my strength, and that gave her and Amity all the time they needed to make their shield even stronger."

His face contorted into a grimace. Danny could easily read rage and frustration in his expression, but there was also something that he wasn't expecting to see: a grudging, reluctant respect. "Fighting and crushing my enemies in the Ghost Zone brought my power up to new levels, but thanks to Valerie humanity was able to strengthen its defenses as well. Because of her, my conquest of the Earth took years instead of months before I finally brought their resistance tumbling down into the grave. I could have wiped out Earth's civilizations long before I did with my Ghostly Wail, but I wanted more of a challenge and I wanted to see just how strong humanity really was, so I kept my greatest power hidden for years until the day I tore Amity Park's ghost shield to shreds."

Dan suddenly laughed wryly. "She was an irritating, meddlesome bitch who didn't know how to keep her nose out of other people's business. But I have to admit," he conceded, "she was one of the humans who actually had a spine, and she made my conquest of Earth much more exciting than I could have expected. All in all, the only human I would deign to consider a worthy enemy."

Danny floated silently, trying to take everything in. He knew Valerie was a skilled ghost huntress in her own right, he had seen her skill for himself both in the present and in the future. But he couldn't have possibly imagined that she would have become the champion of humanity against his evil self's rampage…and that Dan would actually acknowledge her courage.

"Uhm…Sir Phantom?" a voice asked trembling. Dan and Danny both turned to look at Dora, who was quite shaken at seeing the evil version of her friend that had spread so much fear and terror in the Ghost Zone. "What does…what does this have to do with me and Akeldama's rebellion?"

"Ah, yes…" Dan replied calmly, "the question of the hour. Why _did_ I decide to come to your aid? The answer to that lies within my domination of the Ghost Zone. By the time I decided to turn my attention to the Dragon Kingdom, I'd already brought most of my enemies down on their knees. I ripped Technus apart so thoroughly he had to transmit his entire being into Skulker's suit just to keep his consciousness intact, I crippled Johnny 13's legs and chained him to a wheelchair, I forced Box Ghost to watch as I beat his loved one to the brink of destruction, and I ripped apart Ember's voice and her dreams." He grinned as Danny shuddered at the mention of Ember, barely perceptible as it was. He knew he couldn't do anything to harm any of them now that he was bound to Clockwork's service, but it gave him great pleasure to watch his past self squirm at what could have been _his _atrocities.

"As you can imagine, I was much stronger then than I was at the moment of my creation," Dan continued, "and one of the largest obstacles in my path to conquest was the Dragon Kingdom. Of course, I could have just razed it to the ground like I had any other city, but sometimes mindless destruction gets tedious even for me. So I did something a little bit…different."

He played around with his fingers as he recalled the memory. "The Dragon Kingdom's rulers were powerful, and if there's one thing that truly excites me more than enslaving the world to my will, it's a challenge worthy of my skill and power. So I decided to offer them a chance. If Prince Aragon could provide enough entertainment in battle to keep me satisfied, I would leave their kingdom alone. Otherwise, I would obliterate the whole thing and throw it straight into the Abyss."

Dan's face contorted into an inhuman rage. "But I'll tell you what that coward Aragon did instead. As soon as he had the chance, he fled his kingdom like a dog, snaking his way to the farthest reaches of the Ghost Zone," he spat. Danny couldn't help but notice the disgust and contempt in his voice, a sign that his evil self was legitimately infuriated by the future dragon prince's cowardice. "He abandoned the ghosts he was supposed to protect from my rage, but I devoted my efforts to hunting HIM down instead. I found him cowering in some cave in the far reaches of the Zone, and I gave him a death befitting that of a coward."

He sneered at Akeldama. "Truly a worthy leader, isn't he, your dear prince?" he spat. "I think I almost did your kingdom a service when I wiped him out. As you can imagine, by that point my patience had all but run its course…"

_Alternate Future, Court of the Dragon Kingdoms_

"_THIS is the best you can offer me?" Dan snarled at the terrified court. "I expected a champion to come and match me, and instead all I saw was a coward." He tossed the remains of Aragon's crown and his dragon amulet onto the court floor. "Your weakling of a prince has signed your death warrant." His fists began to glow with ecto-energy. "And I think I'll start with…"_

"_WAIT!" a voice interrupted him._

_Dan looked curiously at the source of the voice, a blond-haired ghost dressed in a white outfit. She looked extremely frightened, but still managed to compose her nerves. "I…I will not let you harm my people!"_

"_Oh?" Dan dissipated the energy in his hands. "And who are you to stop me, girl?"_

_She gathered her courage and stared her enemy directly in the eye. "I am Dorathea, Princess of the Dragon Kingdom!" she proclaimed. "If my brother failed to meet your challenge, Dark Phantom, then I shall be the one to fight in his stead!"_

_Dan grinned. "Dark Phantom, hmm? Not a bad name…" he mused for a moment before snapping his attention back to the princess. He could tell right away that Dorathea's request for time was a ploy to hide some greater plan, but his desire for a worthy fight outweighed what caution he would have otherwise implemented. "You don't look like much, Dorathea," he sneered, "but I could use a good laugh. I'll allow you this one chance. You have one day to prepare. Do not disappoint me if you wish for your kingdom to live on."_

_Present Day_

The look that Dan was giving Dorathea now was utterly baffling to Danny. The arrogant disdain that he shared for pretty much everyone else was downplayed compared to what it normally was. But now there was something in his gaze that Danny had NEVER seen him give to anybody except for the Primordials: genuine respect and approval.

"There was no chance in Oblivion that you could have hoped to defeat me by yourself, so you underwent a dangerous and forbidden ritual to…even the odds," Dan explained nonchalantly. "Failure could have resulted in an agonizing and prolonged destruction of your ectoplasmic form. But then again, I wasn't exactly a much better option, was I?"

"You think?" Danny snorted, but his interest in Dan's story was now beginning to override his negativity towards his evil self.

"Your gamble succeeded, princess…" Dan continued. "You absorbed the sum total of both of the dragon amulets into your very essence. And when the battle for the fate of your kingdom came, Dorathea, you came closer than any ghost before or since, save for that meddling temporal Primordial, to bringing about my defeat."

Akeldama scoffed derisively. "You cannot be serious. This pathetic princess nearly outmatched a destroyer of armies?"

Dan gritted his teeth in anger and punched his captive in the nose with his fist. The ghost screamed as everyone heard the shattering of bone. "You dare to question my word?" Dan snarled. "Speak out of turn again and you'll learn firsthand what it's like to exist without your limbs!"

Akeldama whimpered and fell silent as his conqueror turned his attention back to Danny and Dorathea. "With the power of two dragons at your disposal, princess, you gave me the greatest trial that any ghost, besides that meddling Primordial Clockwork, was able to offer. You were able to inflict many a wound and burn upon me as our battle raged, a feat that few can claim to have accomplished."

As he was listening to the story, Danny suddenly had a vision of that very battle. Of a younger, but equally malicious Dan blasting ghost attack and ghost attack against a huge dragon that seemed to radiate with ancient power. The dragon breathed a tremendous stream of ghostly fire at Dan, who roared in furious agony as the flames burned against his very form. Judging by their looks, both of them seemed to have suffered numerous wounds from countless attacks. Danny had only seen Dan this vulnerable once. When he had attacked him with his only Ghostly Wail at the climax of their battle.

"You, alone among the ghosts of that future, forced me to play my ultimate hand." Dan finished. "I've used my Ghostly Wail several times in my future, Dorathea, but for this one battle I was forced to used it out of _necessity_."

The vision in Danny's head concluded with Dan blasting the dragon with his signature Ghostly Wail, sending her smashing into the forest nearby. Dan himself landed on the ground gasping with pain, forced onto one knee. "It's almost a shame," the present-day Dan commented dryly with a mock sigh. "Without the threat of my iron fist looming over you, you lack the incentive to reach that stage of ultimate power. I couldn't even finish you off at the end of it all because I was too weak to fight you and your army at the same time."

He lifted Akeldama to eye-level, giving him a deadly glare as he did so. "You seemed quite convinced that your spineless prince was the superior ruler, _wretch_," he spat as he lifted a fist glowing with energy in front of Akeldama's face. "So tell me this. If he was truly the rightful ruler of this land, then why was Aragon the one who deserted his own kingdom, squealing like a dog? And why was the supposedly inferior princess the one who came closer to saving the entire Ghost Zone from my wrath than any other ghost before or since?"

Akeldama said nothing, his face frozen in a mask of fear. He had no answer to the Ghostslayer's question, and everyone there knew it. "No answer?" Dan asked with mock concern. "Well then," he finished with a menacing leer. "That's all the answer I need." He straightened himself and his face suddenly turned into a businesslike mask. "Chancellor Akeldama," he announced. "You have been found guilty of high treason against a Ghost Elder, a crime that invokes the highest level of punishment."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Isn't there going to be a trial?" he asked.

Dan sneered. "I've caught him in the act of waging war to supplant an efficient ruler with a worthless noble. I could grind his head underneath the torture wheels in the Dragon castle and there's _nothing_ anybody can do about it." But then his expression adopted a thoughtful look. "But come to think of it…I've never seen Clockwork directly punish anyone before," he mused. "I think I'll let _him _decide this worm's fate."

Akeldama's eyes bulged open in panic. "No, no!" he screamed. "Not him! Not the Primordial of time!"

"You fear his wrath, do you?" Danny's evil self hissed. "_Good_. All the more reason to throw you at his feet." Laughing maniacally, he began to fly upward and out of the realm, but he stopped at the last moment.

"Oh," he added with a smirk, "and in case you were curious, I kept my end of the agreement. Violating my word is beneath a superior being such as myself. And a worthy opponent is quite the rarity both in this timeline and in my own. I wouldn't want to destroy one _too _quickly. There's just no fun in that." And with that, he flew out of Dora's kingdom with the flailing Akeldama in tow.

Danny and Dora stared silently after them, watching until they faded out of sight into the distance. The Champion slowly looked with a stunned expression at his dragon friend. "You did all that, Dora?" he breathed. "I knew you were a great ruler, but I didn't know you had that kind of courage!"

The dragon ghost blinked as she reverted back to her human form. "Neither did I, Sir Phantom. Neither did I."

/

So, did you guys enjoy Dan's tale? I don't see a lot of fics that discuss the details of Dan's ten year reign of terror, so I figured I could add some bits and pieces of one possibility of what could have happened.

This was my attempt to make Dan a bit multi-dimensional. He's still undoubtedly a malicious bastard; that aspect of him will never change. But I wanted to see what would happen if I added aspects of _morality_ to Dan while keeping his macro-personality largely intact. Hopefully I haven't made him OOC by doing so.

Read and review please!


	21. Chapter 21 - Back to Earth

A/N: I don't have much to say here, except that I've been really busy keeping my grades up in college. Thank God my long ordeal is (almost) FINALLY over.

Chapter 21 – Back to Earth

_Clockwork's Tower_

"So that's it?" Danny asked incredulously. "No lesson, no mission, no nothing?"

Clockwork smiled and shook his head. "None. When you set out to rescue Princess Dorathea from Akeldama's betrayal you did exactly what I wanted you to do. The link between the human and ghost worlds will be fully repaired very soon, and you will be able to return home to your family very soon."

His champion grinned and fist-pumped the air. "All right!"

The door to one of Clockwork's inner rooms suddenly swung open and Dan strode into the main chamber. Danny gaped at his…frankly bizarre appearance compared to what he was used to. Gone was the familiar jumpsuit and cape that he always wore. Instead, he was carrying two suitcases and wearing jeans, a black leather jacket and a black T-shirt. In other words, a biker gang outfit.

Danny's mind tried and failed to comprehend what he was seeing. "What the…"

Dan smirked and then ignored Danny, focusing his attention instead on Clockwork. "I'll be going off on my vacation now…" he informed him smoothly. "I think now's a good time to put my normal destructive tendencies on standby and indulge some of my more…mundane vices instead."

Clockwork nodded, his face betraying nothing. "You know the rules," he bluntly replied.

"Wha…what are you doing?" Danny finally managed to splutter out.

"Oh, nothing you have to worry about," the Dark Phantom replied coolly. "I'm simply taking a vacation to Las Vegas for a few days, with the Primordials' permission of course. I wonder what kind of games the humans were able to come up with without my iron fist looming over their heads."

"What…why do you even care about Las Vegas?" the halfa asked blankly. "Didn't you destroy it like you did everything else?"

Dan outright laughed at that. "Please…" he retorted condescendingly. "If I'd reduced EVERYTHING to a pile of ashes and dust, my afterlife would have been so very _tedious_. Those who willingly surrendered to me were spared the brunt of my wrath, in addition to places that I had an interest in keeping intact. Las Vegas fit both of those criteria in my time, and I often took a visit there whenever I decided to…take a break from my usual activities of conquering the world and spreading despair."

Two rings suddenly formed around his waist and spread out vertically, concealing Dan in a human-like disguise. He had Danny's black hair, skin color, and blue eyes, but his human form was both old significantly older and much rougher-looking. "I always found Texas Hold'em quite fascinating," he commented. "A game more than any other that relies on deceit and the shadows of secrecy to win. My kind of fun."

Danny was about to say something else, but at that moment Spatia flew into the tower. "Good news, brother!" she declared. "The link between realms has been restored. Our Champion can finally return home."

Dan laughed at the news. "Perfect!" He reached a hand out and created a ghost portal that would open up in the desert just outside of Vegas. "I think it's time to have a little bit of fun," he said with a grin, before turning invisible and flying into the portal.

"I don't see this going well," Danny commented dryly as Clockwork turned his attention back to his student.

"As a ghost, he cannot be affected by human alcohol or drugs," Clockwork replied. "I set very strict conditions for him to follow, there is nothing to worry about."

Danny suddenly had a mental image of Dan's human form strutting about in Las Vegas, throwing chips for roulette, matching wits with opponents in poker, and trying his hand at slot machines. As terrifying as the thought of Dan interacting with human society was, even he had to admit that it was kind of funny in its own twisted way.

The Empress of Dimensions smiled kindly at her new friend. "I presume that you'll be wanting to return home soon, young one?" she asked.

The halfa shook himself out of his reverie. "Wha? Oh! Uh, yeah!" he replied awkwardly. "Yeah, my parents and friends must be worried sick!"

Spatia laughed gently. "You can reunite with them now. Pandora will be waiting for you at the Fenton Portal. We've stationed security so that Amity Park isn't swarmed with ghosts eager to get out of the Zone."

The champion rolled his eyes. "Good idea. Knowing them, they're probably going to go crazy once they hear about this."

Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "If they do not want a repeat performance of my show of power, they'll behave themselves."

Danny shuddered a bit, but quickly let his slight nervousness pass by. "Well then!" he decided. "It's time for me to go home!" He floated into the air and out of the tower, before blasting off into the Ghost Zone.

Clockworks gazed calmly after him until he was sure that his charge was gone, and then turned back to Spatia. "Daniel is returning home to spend time with his human loved ones, and the Ghostslayer is engaging in activities far away, ones that DON'T involve violence and destruction for a change."

Spatia nodded knowingly. "Then let us begin with the next stage of our plan."

She lifted her staff, and a portal suddenly opened up in the middle of the tower. The portal was not a Ghost Portal, but instead one that opened up into the blackness of a void. Clockwork snapped his fingers at the portal, and a figure suddenly flew out of the portal, his expression frozen in a state of panic at some unseen, incoming disaster. Spatia closed the portal again, and Clockwork broke the stasis that his temporal prisoner was trapped in. The man collapsed onto the ground, finally releasing a huge gasp of air.

"What?" he swerved his head around frantically around as he tried to get a bearing of his surroundings. "What is this? Who are you? Where am I?"

The Master of Time glanced coolly at his new guest. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Clockwork, Master of Time, and you are in my tower."

The man's eyes bulged. "The…the Master of Time?" he stuttered, his mind not comprehending the sudden turn of events.

The Primordial nodded. "Much has changed since your banishment into space. We have much to discuss, Vladimir Masters…much to discuss indeed."

_Fenton Portal_

Blissfully unaware of what was occurring back at the tower, Danny flew happily towards the familiar Fenton Portal, eager to return home at last. Sure enough, he could soon see Pandora's imposing form standing guard in front of the Ghost Portal. The lady of the Acropolis waved cheerily with one of her arms upon seeing Danny approach.

"Young Phantom!" she called out to him. "Am I correct to presume that you wish to cross into your world now?"

"Yep!" Danny shouted back. "As much as I like hanging around in the Ghost Zone nowadays, I have a human life I need to take care of too!"

Pandora nodded her head sagely. "Finding balance in one's life is key to a happy existence. I'm glad you're attending to both your ghostly and human aspects."

Danny smiled at the advice and prepared to dive into the portal back home. But before he could do so…

"Hold it!"

He turned around to see his new ghost friends floating a few feet away from him. "Forgetting someone, dipstick?" Ember smirked. "You can't just leave us hanging here!"

The champion facepalmed. "Agh, crap…." He muttered. "I knew I was missing something before I came here."

"No worries, dude," Johnny shrugged. "It's not like you're ditching us for good or anything."

"Just make sure you come back soon!" Kitty added with a grin.

Danny smiled and waved at them. "Don't worry, guys. A few days with my other family and friends and I'll be back before you know it! I've got a realm to work on, remember?"

"Damn right do you!" the ghost rocker grinned cockily. "This is the biggest thing that's happened to us this week apart from the whole Ghost King mess. Don't leave us hanging here, baby pop!"

The halfa approached his new friends and exchanged hugs with both Kitty and Ember. He then quickly pounded fists with Johnny and ruffled Youngblood's hair affectionately. "I'll be back soon guys!" he promised with one final wave, before he dashed into the portal and to his own home world.

"See you later!" they all called back. Pandora smiled warmly at the signs of their new friendship. She had always sympathized with the young halfa who had helped her clean up the mess the Box Ghost had left behind, and had long felt that the other ghosts had been doing him a disservice by constantly intruding his life. Such a state of affairs was one that needed to be changed, and it gave her joy to know that, after so long, it finally was.

_Fenton Works Lab_

"There he is!"

Danny barely had time to get on his feet when a blur suddenly rammed into him. Maddie wasted absolutely no time in wrapping her son in a bonecrushing hug, and Danny just _barely_ managed to resist the temptation to turn intangible.

"Too…strong…" he choked out. "Can't…breathe…"

"Ah, don't give her too much mind, son!" Jack lumbered towards them and put a giant hand on his son's shoulder. "We've been worried sick about you for the past day or so every since the portal went haywire!"

Danny grinned. "For once in my life, nothing bad happened! Actually, I've got great news!"

As the four of them climbed up the stairs to the dining table, Danny described how Pariah Dark had finally been destroyed once and for all by the Primordials and how he was now their new champion.

"That's amazing, Danny!" Jazz exclaimed. "You're pretty much a ghost elder now!"

"Who could have thought my little boy could have grown up so much and gone so far?" Maddie cooed affectionately. "All this responsibility on your shoulders and you're still standing strong!"

Jack grinned. "You're certainly doing better than your old man did at your age," he agreed. "Champion of the Primordials…you never cease to amaze me, Danny my boy!"

"Well, I'm going to be making a special dinner tonight!" Maddie declared. "To celebrate your triumphant return!"

Danny smirked wryly. "As long as you're not using the Ecto-Cooker, then fine by me!"

His mom pouted as the other three family members started laughing. "Ecto-cooking will revolutionize the world someday!" she swore jokingly. "One day I'll show you all!"

/

One delicious, non-Ecto cooked feast later, the family had gathered in the living room to discuss the plans for the rest of the weekend. "So how are you feeling, bro?" Jazz asked. "Tired?"

Danny shrugged. "Actually, I feel great! I woke up really late this morning and got a lot of sleep for a change! Travelling in the Ghost Zone actually doesn't tire me out that much, surprisingly."

"Great!" Jack declared. "Because we were thinking of starting our Fenton family training sessions tomorrow! We're a family, Danny, and we should all be dishing out pain to any spook that tries to mess around with our town, not just you."

"So where are we going?" Danny asked.

Jack shrugged. "Er…well, we probably don't want to do this around town. Collateral damage and all that."

"How about Lake Eerie?" Jazz suggested. "Nobody ever goes there and we'll have the entire forest to ourselves."

"Hold it!" Maddie interrupted. "Isn't that place haunted by ghosts? That's what you told us a few weeks ago."

Danny smirked. "Well, that MIGHT'VE been the case back then. But the storm in the Ghost Zone completely destroyed any portals between Earth and the GZ, and they've only just now come back up. Pandora was guarding the Fenton Portal, so something tells me the Ghost Elders aren't letting any traffic back in anytime soon."

"Besides," Jack added as he pointed at Danny, "we've got the best ghostbusting fighter right here!"

Maddie visibly relaxed. "Well in that case, it's probably for the best. I'll load up the Fenton vehicle with some equipment and we'll head out tomorrow." She gestured at Jack and the two Fenton parents started walking towards the basement. "You two can do whatever you want!" she called back as they descended down the stairs. "It doesn't really matter to us."

Danny and Jazz stared at each other for a second, then wide grins spread on both of their faces. "Video games?" Jazz asked.

"Video games," Danny confirmed. "Race you to the television!"

_Meanwhile, in Las Vegas_

Dan smirked as he gazed briefly at his hand before coolly staring back at his opponent. He had been playing at the same table of Texas Hold'em for quite some time, and the other occupants of the table had long been cleaned out. Now it was just him and his enemy, both of them having gone all-in as an immense pile of chips sat in the middle of the table.

The attendant flipped the last card on the table, adding an Ace of spades to the Jack of spades, 4 of hearts, 4 of clubs, and 10 of spades already on the table. "Show your cards," he ordered the two contestants.

The other player started laughing. "You should've given up when you had the chance, noobie," he sneered. He flipped his hand down to reveal the 4 of spades and 4 of diamonds. "I was hoping you'd be dumb enough to stay in. Thanks for the cash!"

Dan stared incredulously at the cards for a moment, and then his face spread into a malevolent grin. "Such a high hand," he commented whimsically. "You can't possibly know how pleased I am to see this…because it's only going to make your loss so much more painful."

He smacked his cards onto the table, and everyone around him gasped in blank shock. Staring blankly up at the crowd were the Queen and King of spades. Dan had gambled against a Four of a Kind and had won with the only hand that could possibly have been higher.

"Well …" the disguised Ghostslayer picked up his massive pile of winnings and started laughing at his defeated foe, who was all but frothing in the mouth with shock and rage, "that's it, isn't it? It's been fun bleeding you dry. Enjoy walking away with nothing."

As he walked away from the poker table, Dan's grin only grew wider. "I just ruined someone else's life and I didn't even have to use a single one of my ghost powers," he thought. "This is going to be a _very_ good night."

/

A/N: I'm really sorry I made you wait a while for what's basically a relatively dull transition chapter, but every large story has one of these at some point in time.

The "Dan in Las Vegas" thing doesn't have much (read: borderline any) plot relevance, but I thought it'd be interesting or amusing to see him in a scenario that isn't him destroying anything that he can get his hands on or beating the crap out of a bad guy who is worse than him in some way.

Next chapter, Fenton family training!


	22. Chapter 22 - Fenton Family Training

A/N: And let the Fenton family training begin! Sorry this took so long, finals dominated my life for a while. That and the fact that Writer's Block slammed in my face and dented my progress at the same time.

I've also recently started a new fic for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers, though I can't say a ton about it here because there's a ton of spoilers even if you looked at the title (just go through my more recent stories to find it). I'm really enthusiastic about both this fic and that one, so I would really appreciate it if you guys could take the time to review both fics.

And with that, onto the next chapter!

Chapter 22 – Fenton Family Training

_The Next Morning_

"Got everything you need, dad?"

"Sure thing!" Jack shouted back as he hauled one of his standard ecto-bazookas onto the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle RV. "We're all set and ready to go!"

Maddie looked skeptically at the weapon. "You DID make sure to power it down, right?" she asked. "Those things will stick pack a punch on Danny if you didn't." In response, Jack hoisted the gun and fired it at one of the Fenton Works windows, which didn't so much as crack.

"Jazzy and I took care of all the safety stuff," he declared as he returned the machine to its original position. "So there's nothing to worry about!"

"So I know who to blame if something goes wrong," Danny joked as his dad pouted. "Ah, I'm just kidding dad, I'm sure this'll go great!"

His mom grinned. "You've got a 9th degree black belt for a mom, Danny," she reminded him. "You kick butt all the time, but I kick butt with style!"

Jazz smiled and looked out the window as the RV drove off towards Lake Eerie. "I don't remember the last time we had a night out together like this without any problems," she thought as the rest of her family kept bantering. It truly was amazing just how much the family dynamic had really improved after Danny's secret had come out. "Who cares if I wouldn't normally touch Lake Eerie with a ten foot pole? This is going to make everything worth it!"

_A Few Hours Later_

"Uggghhh…" Danny groaned as the musky smell of the lake hit his nose. "I forgot just how much this place actually sucks."

"Ah, don't be like that, Dann-o!" Jack lightly smacked his son's back. "This is always a great spot for fishing! And we're in luck, cause nobody else is here!"

"Thank God for that," Jazz thought, though she didn't say it out loud. Considering how…questionable her dad's accuracy could be sometimes when it came to shooting things, it would be all too easy for an accident to happen if there was an innocent bystander nearby.

Maddie, meanwhile, was staring disapprovingly at the vast expanse of forest around them. "Well this is no good!" she declared. "Everything's covered with trees! This is a terrible place to do any kind of training!"

Danny smirked. "Don't worry, mom! I've got that covered!" A couple of minutes and a few destroyed trees and rocks later, there were now two clearings wide enough for everyone to use.

"All right, sweetie, you know what we agreed on, right?" Maddie asked.

Danny nodded and a duplicate formed next to him. Unlike the real Danny, who was currently in his human attire, the duplicate was dressed in Phantom's traditional hazmat uniform. "I'll train with you and Jazz on martial arts, and my duplicate will work on shooting accuracy with dad," the real one stated.

"Let's get to it then!" Jack eagerly pointed at one of the clearings. The Danny duplicate bobbed his head towards one of the newly formed fields, and Jack followed him with a large Fenton bazooka in hand as the rest of the Fenton family began unpacking their equipment. Maddie, Danny, and Jazz each grabbed several mats and rolled them onto the ground, creating a makeshift dojo.

"There's something I've noticed about how you fight, Danny," Maddie started once they were all ready. "When it comes to battling most ghosts in close combat, you've definitely got strength and power down. That's one of your biggest strengths." She suddenly frowned. "The problem is, Danny, is that you lack the agility and dexterity to complement that power."

Jazz looked at her mom incredulously. "What?" she asked blankly. "Danny's got ghost powers! He can travel at speeds that most vehicles could only dream of!"

Maddie shook her head. "I'm not talking about speed, dear. I'm talking about grace. A lot of times when Danny fought, at least back in his early years as Phantom, he left a huge mess and a lot of collateral damage lying around. It's one of the reasons why we originally thought he was nothing but ectoplasmic scum in the first place."

Said ghost hero looked sheepishly at his mother as she continued, "And there's something else I've noticed. When it comes to fending off other ghostly attacks, you tend to use your ghost powers to block things more than anything else. That's fine and all, but there's ways to fight more efficiently and effectively. The opposite is true for Jazz, from what I've seen of her few ghost fights she can be more agile but she's physically weaker even without taking into account ghost powers. That's why I'm going to be teaching the two of you, but especially Danny, martial arts."

"Whatever you can do to help me out, mom, I'm all for it!" Danny replied after processing his mom's words.

"Not that I have a problem with learning how to fight, mom, but why are you teaching me this too?" Jazz asked. "I mean, I'm not a half-ghost hero like Danny."

"It's for your own safety and your own good, sweetie," Maddie explained. "Even if ghosts don't come after you, Jazzy-pants, other non-ectoplasmic creeps might. Besides," she suddenly grinned, "don't you want to kick a bunch of ass like the rest of your family?"

"I can kick plenty of butt by myself!" Jazz protested. But everyone could tell that she was just as eager for this as the rest of them.

"All right, then!" Maddie declared with a smile. "To begin with, we're going to start with some basic exercises. Some kicks and punches, and then we'll go on from there…"

_Meanwhile…_

Jack grinned up at the duplicate of his son. "All ready, Dann-O?"

Danny-2 raised a thumbs-up at his father and floated up to one of the clearing's edges, in a direction that would make sure that any shots from his dad would fly harmlessly into the deeper forest.

Jack took out his signature Fenton bazooka and aimed it at Danny-2 before firing. Despite being the butt of many a joke by his wife and occasionally his kids, the Fenton patriarch's accuracy wasn't SO bad that he couldn't hit a still target. Danny-2 winced as the bolt of ecto-energy flew into him, though thanks to its depowered mode the duplicate only felt the impact as a small punch rather than a dangerous projectile.

"Okay, I'm going to start moving!" Danny-2 called out to Jack. He began floating from side to side in a predictable pattern, waiting for his dad to start firing again.

Jack tried his best to trace his duplicate son's movements, but he miscalculated and his shot fired off to Danny-2's left. He tried again, only to end up missing too far to the right.

"Rats!" the Fenton father muttered as he realized just how badly he was doing at something as simple as a slow moving target. Now that he thought about it, most of the ghosts that he had shot at beforehand were so humongous that only a complete idiot could possibly miss them. Either that or at the time he was using Fenton weapons that had tracking projectiles. Take out both factors, and he had to admit that he really was a terrible shot.

Danny-2 meanwhile looked both sympathetic and exasperated at the same time. "Well, on the plus side," he thought dryly, "we know where to start with."

_Back to Maddie_…

"Not bad for a first time," Maddie evaluated approvingly as she watched Danny and Jazz. The two of them had no problems with carrying out basic kicks and punches, though in Danny's case he had a lot of experience under his belt thanks to all the ghosts that he had been fighting. With the fundamentals out of the way, she could now move on to actual exercises.

"All right, you two. Watch me go through these motions," she ordered her children, who stopped what they were doing. The two of them watched amazed as Maddie proceeded to show them a sequence of punches, kicks, and other assorted martial arts moves, all of which emanated an almost majestic grace and style. She laughed at their dumbfounded expressions. "You think that's good?" she smirked. "That's only just the beginning. I just showed you a basic exercise, there's a lot more where that came from!"

"How are we going to do that, mom?" Jazz asked.

"Actually, a lot of this is more for Danny's sake," Maddie explained. "As I said earlier, Jazzie, grace and agility are his weak points and that's the whole point of these exercises. In fact, you could probably do them better on a first try than Danny could!"

Jazz smirked at Danny, who only rolled his eyes. "I'll show you both!" he claimed. He positioned his body to perform the exercise….only to realize that he had already forgotten the first move. "Uh…" he suddenly felt very embarrassed as his sister repressed the urge to start laughing, "could you show that again?"

Maddie sighed. "Let's take this one step at a time, Danny. Watch me again and copy all of the moves that I do, okay?" She proceeded to guide him and Jazz through the exercise, letting him repeat her moves after she did them herself. As they proceeded, she frequently made comments about posture or execution, more of which were directed at Danny.

"Your posture looks sloppy," she scolded at one point, forcing Danny to repeat the move. "What are you going to do if your powers are drained and all you've got is what your human half can do?"

"I can handle myself," Danny wanted to say, but memories of his past silenced his protest. His mom was right, most of his lows in his hero career had been when his powers had been drained from him. Sure, the probability of that happening nowadays were a LOT lower than they once were ever since he started training with Clockwork, but why should he risk that chance? "Got it, mom…" was all he said instead as he repeated the maneuver.

"You're already making a lot of progress, Danny," his mom assured him. "It'll only take you a few tries to get this down, I'm sure!"

The halfa grinned at her. "If I can fight ghosts off every day, I won't let some karate moves bring me down! You'll see!"

_Jack's Clearing…_

"Ack!" Danny-2 yelped as the blast smashed into him. "Did you have to fire that between my legs?"

Jack winced at the implications, very grateful that his blaster's power had been significantly neutralized before they'd started. Sure, this Danny was only a duplicate of his son, but he understood Danny-2's irritation just as much as any male would.

Still, Jack's accuracy had improved considerably as he and Danny-2 had proceeded with their target practice. An hour and several attempts later, Jack could now consistently hit Danny-2 with his both his massive weapon and small blaster while the latter moved around in rapidly increasing speeds, albeit predictably.

"All right, dad!" Danny-2 called out to his father. "Let's kick things up a notch! Ghosts aren't going to move around in a pattern for you to just wait around and shoot them, so I'm not going to either! Are you ready?"

"Show me what you've got, son!" Jack called back. His eyes then bulged as Danny-2 started moving about in _extremely_ erratic ways. There was no pattern for him to follow, no way for him to reliably measure where Danny would move. "Oh, in the name of…" he groaned, knowing that if he was in a public location he'd likely be making a complete fool of himself. He lifted his bazooka toward his son's duplicate, took careful aim, and fired.

_Maddie's Clearing_

"So what was that you were saying about being better than me at everything, Jazz?" Danny taunted as his sister panted and wiped the sweat off of her brow, throwing him a dirty look as she did so. After going through a few more exercises, his mom had decided to shift to sparring and had ordered them both to put on their sparring gear. She had then instructed them to face off against each other, using the moves they had learned for their combat.

Even without taking his half-ghost nature into account, Danny had rapidly proved to have much higher endurance and strength. The two of them had been relatively even at first, but with each match Jazz grew increasingly tired and weaker while Danny easily stood strong against his sister's assaults. Soon enough, with their fifteenth match over, his sister was utterly exhausted and he still felt fine.

"I'm not cut out for this!" Jazz complained. "I'm the bookworm, remember?"

"That's no excuse, princess!" Maddie scolded. "I did just fine with my grades and I still had time for athletics! You need to be strong in both body and mind!" Her face then softened. "Though to be fair, we have been at this for a while now," she admitted. "Let's call your father over and have some lunch."

"I'm in!" Danny and Jazz both said at the same time. Their hunger overriding any tiredness they might have felt beforehand, the two Fenton siblings rushed out of the clearing and back towards the road where the Fenton vehicle was waiting. Danny also sent a telepathic message to his duplicate to let his dad know that they were going to eat.

Maddie sighed contentedly as she watched her children go. For the first time in living memory, it felt like they were all a true family again. No more secrets, no more dodging around each other, not even any lab work to get in the way. Only now had she realized just how much she missed how things had used to be.

"You've both come so far," she thought as she followed them. "I'm so proud of you!"

_Meanwhile, in the Ghost Zone…_

"Are you sure about this, Em?" Kitty asked the ghost rocker incredulously. "Clockwork blocked off his tower for the entire weekend, remember? There's no way he's gonna bother talking to us right now!"

"Well, what else can we do?" Ember countered. "You think Walker and the Ghost Police are just gonna let us fly right through the Ghost Zone portals? Heck, I'm just glad we didn't get arrested the first time we tried that! The only way we're gonna get through to Earth is if Clockwork gives us a pass."

Kitty opened her mouth. "And before you say anything, Kitty, yeah, I already know we're probably not gonna get crap out of this."

"If you say so," the biker girl sighed. The two of them flew through the Zone until they reached Clockwork's tower. When they approached the main entrance, they found that, sure enough, it had been sealed shut.

"You see!" Kitty gestured towards the blocked gate, "I told you this was a waste of time!"

"Grrrrrrrrr…." Ember growled. "All right, fine! You win! So much for that plan!" She turned around and was about to fly away, when suddenly she heard a voice shouting from within.

"What in the name of butter biscuits do you mean the Ghost King's artifacts have been destroyed?" it yelled furiously.

"It is exactly what it sounds like," Clockwork's voice answered coldly. "No singular being should have the right to rule over the entire afterlife. So the Ghost Council destroyed Pariah and his power, once and for all."

"They belong to me!" the first voice shouted. "I deserve them! I have more power than most ghosts can dream of having!"

"They belong to _no one,_" the Time Master replied, his tone filled with a tranquil menace that somehow made him seem more terrifying than if he had been shouting with rage. "You are trapped under the pitiful delusion that might makes right. A misguided and fundamentally false philosophy that leads only to tyranny, brutality, and destruction. And even if we accepted that delusion as reality, it would work against you rather than for you. You might have been among the elite once in terms of power, but that time has long passed. And if you refuse to listen to my words, you will learn that the hard way."

Ember's eyes widened in horror. "No way…" she breathed in barely a whisper, "…that voice…wasn't that…Plasmius?"

Kitty looked similarly panicked. "Isn't he Danny's archenemy? I thought he was supposed to be trapped in space!"

"This is bad, Kitty," the undead diva said grimly. "We need to warn the mini-dipstick and baby-pop about this right now."

"But how? The patrols won't let us go through the ghost portals!"

Ember's eyes narrowed. "There's one thing you should know about me by now, Kitty. I don't take no for an answer."

/

And that's this chapter wrapped up! To be honest I think I've written better chapters in the past, but I'm glad I managed to get this out of the way so that I can move on to bigger and better things.

Looks like Plasmius isn't really happy about how things have turned out ever since he got trapped in the Disasteroid. Then again it's not like he can do anything about it, especially considering how Clockwork was able to make _Dan Phantom _his bitch…

Largely I added the end section just to throw in a little Ember at the end. This IS a Danny x Ember story, after all…

Thank you all for your continued support!


	23. Chapter 23 - Reflections: Dan Phantom

A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone!

I'm actually really busy with college life right now but I don't want to leave you guys hanging, so occasionally I'm going to be writing these short little chapters on the thoughts of some of the DP characters. I won't put this as a separate fic since these happen in PHR's verse.

Gonna start with Dan because he's always been a character that fascinates me. This one IS currently happening around the same time Danny is training with his Fenton family, but others will not necessarily be at a fixed point in time. Sorry if this bleeds into exposition rather than Dan's own thoughts.

Chapter 23 – Reflections: Dan Phantom

_Las Vegas_

"Excellent!" Dan thought with a grin as he lay down on his bed in his suite in the Bellagio, a briefcase full of cash next to him. The Ghostslayer didn't place any real value on money in and of itself, but the remnant of Plasmius within him recognized its usefulness in dealing with daily affairs. "Easily over a million dollars' worth of winnings. And since I won all of this _legally_, there's nothing Clockwork can do to take it from me."

With nothing around to divert his attention, he found himself reflecting on his new status as the Master of Time's eternal servant. Only a few months ago, he would have been frothing and howling with rage at his fall from being the terror of the world and the apocalypse incarnate. But if he was honest with himself, and he had always found self-deception to be a fruitless exercise, Dan knew that Clockwork could have made things far worse for him than he actually had.

Every ghost and human that he had encountered during his reign of terror believed that they understood the nature of his ghostly obsession. Every one of them, including his weak past self, thought that he existed only to cause destruction and despair. Fools. Of all his many victims and enemies, only Clockwork understood that the obsession which fueled his ghostly existence was far more complex and elegant than mindlessly demolishing everything in his path.

He had been created from the ghost halves of Danny Phantom and Vladimir Plasmius, both of whom had ghostly obsessions of their own. Any fool with a sliver of basic intelligence could easily deduce his weaker self's obsession: to protect and defend the people that he cared about, using whatever force or power necessary to do so. Even though the human half of Danny's nature diluted his obsession to a degree so that he didn't fanatically pursue it like most ghosts did, it was still a critical part of who he was.

Dan scowled as his mind shifted from Phantom to Plasmius. Plasmius had played his cards well at the beginning, and he had originally been somewhat successful at concealing his obsession from the general populace. Only Phantom and his circle of friends knew that Vlad had been a rather pathetic and power-hungry old man who sought both the love of a married woman and domination over all those he deemed inferior to himself. Dan might have found the latter part admirable, until the imbecile had pulled a spectacularly idiotic blunder by revealing his true nature and obsession to the entire world; being trapped in the empty expanse of space was nothing short of what he deserved for playing his hand so atrociously. If anything, his respect for the doddering old fool was far less than his respect for his weaker self; as pathetically heroic as Danny might have been, he DID possess a few traits that Dan grudgingly respected.

And as for how his own obsession came about, now that was a story that interested the Ghostslayer far more than either Phantom or Plasmius. The destruction of the Nasty Burger in the alternate timeline had done more than just hurled him into a crippling depression. Danny's obsession might have extended to Amity Park and humanity at large, but it had centered first and foremost around his friends and family. Their deaths had wiped out the central focus of his obsession and thrown it into a state of chaos. The old cheesehead's obsession might not have been twisted so tremendously, but Maddie's death and Danny's desperation had also torn his world and everything that he had known apart.

With the focus of their ghostly obsessions wiped out in the blink of an eye, all that remained was Danny's aggressiveness and Vlad's desire for power and domination. Those were the aspects that had been ripped apart from their human hosts by the Ghost Gauntlets, and those were the aspects that had been merged together. "Yielding perfection," Dan thought with a self-satisfied smirk.

It was true that he had razed many cities and parts of the world during his decade-long conquest, killing a gigantic part of the world's population in the process and earning him a reputation as a nightmarish destroyer that he was rightfully proud of. But reducing the entire world to ruin in and of itself would have been so mind-numbingly _tedious _after a while, particularly since there was only a pathetically low number of individuals who were capable of actually putting up a half-way decent challenge against him. What was the point of obliterating the entirety of the human population if there would be nobody left to witness and tremble before his dark glory?

That was why he had opted for subjugation and control rather than outright annihilation whenever the mood suited him. Some human settlements, such as this very city which he was now relaxing in, had been wise enough to submit immediately to his will, and he had rewarded them by allowing them to carry out their meaningless existences. Dan still remembered fondly the days when he would enter Poker tournaments for a laugh and half of the opponents he faced would continually fold themselves into defeat, so great was their fear of his wrath.

He had run the gamut from conqueror to destroyer throughout his reign of terror, a villain who diversified the manner in which he carried out his wickedness to maximize the satisfaction he felt from his evil. But that had been a long time ago, in the timeline when he had reigned supreme.

"And here we are now," Dan thought dryly as he opened up a bottle of red wine and began to consume it. The alcohol wouldn't affect him as a ghost, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the taste.

Even though his weaker self had been the one to directly defeat him, the Dark Phantom knew full well that Clockwork had been the mastermind of his fall. It would be no surprise to anyone that a part of him would always despise the Primordial for his meddling, but Dan was surprised by how easily he was accepting the transition that he had been forced into. If he looked at it from another perspective, his power and might had been so great that it had required the intervention of a physical god to overcome. Not even Pariah Dark could make such a claim, not that the decrepit and ruined monarch ever would now that his existence had been obliterated.

Although Dan would strangle the (un-)life of anybody who would dare to suggest it, a small part of him even admired Clockwork's manipulative ability. The Master of Time hadn't deprived him of his ghostly obsession, but rather seized control of it and channeled it to suit his purposes and those of the so-called greater good. Besides, Clockwork had ascended Dan from a mere prisoner to his most powerful warrior and champion by forcing him into servitude, and the authority that he now wielded as the Primordials' most terrifying weapon was almost as absolute as it had been during his own rule.

It was true that he would never be able to achieve total domination of both the Earth and the Ghost Zone ever again, but he was still free to act out his obsession within the limits established by his new master. And more importantly, his legacy of fear had already been and would be seared forever into the minds of not just his weaker self, but of the entirety of the Ghost Zone. The loss of his own glorious future notwithstanding, he truly had little to complain about with regard to the hand that fate had now dealt him.

"I think it's time for me to bleed these pathetic casinos out of their riches once again," Dan thought with a malicious grin as he got up and made his way out of the Bellagio. It had been a long time since he had engaged in vices beyond those that defined his very core…and if Clockwork was actually insane enough to let him have this moment of rest, he was going to drain it of every single advantage that it was within his power to claim.

/

With my college quarter being much busier this time around, my updates will be significantly less frequent than they used to be. That being said, I am NOT declaring a hiatus by any means. There's been too much invested in this story to let it simply die and fade out.

The one time we saw Dan in "Ultimate Enemy," he was definitely acting as the menacing destroyer that we all know and love. For those of you familiar with the Character Alignment axis, he's a classic example of Chaotic Evil. But I thought about what Danny's and Vlad's obsessions some more, and I realized that (in theory) the combination of those obsessions could yield multiple possibilities for Dan's moral alignment. He's unquestionably and undoubtedly evil, there's no doubt about that, but I think it's just as possible for Dan to be Neutral or Lawful as well as Chaotic Evil depending on what suits his interests. Clockwork knows this and his control over Dan is a subtle manipulation of his alignment from his chaotic aspects to his more lawful ones, especially since the Lawful Evil side of him is the one that shows more restraint and defines his sense of honor.

Sorry this isn't another chapter about Danny or Ember, I've been having writer's block for a while and this side chapter was a way to jumble my thoughts. Next chapter will bring this back on track.

Read and review please!


	24. Chapter 24 - The Final Component

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I was REALLY busy lately.

I think it's about time Danny started getting to work on the last part of his realm. Unlike the other parts, however, I'm going to try something different and leave some of the details deliberately vague. I'll let the readers fill those in with their own imaginations.

Chapter 24 – The Finishing Component

_Fenton Works, Late Afternoon_

Tired but in good spirits was the best way for Danny to describe how he felt as the Fenton family finally arrived back at their home. Even with his superhuman endurance, his mom's martial arts training had been surprisingly draining on his stamina, even more so for Jazz. But it had all been highly helpful in honing his combat skills, and he couldn't wait to try and test some new techniques the next time a ghost decided to try and mess with his town.

"All right, you two!" Jack called out to his children. "We're all done for today, so the two of you can do whatever you want!"

"Sweet!" Danny grinned. For a moment, he thought about hitting his room and playing some video games with Sam and Tucker, but then a better idea came to him. Why not just finish up the bar in his realm now and get the hard part out of the way? "I'll be going off to the Ghost Zone then!"

Maddie poked her head out of the minivan. "The Ghost Zone, sweetie?" she repeated. "I thought Clockwork said that his entire tower would be off-limits for the whole weekend!"

Danny shook his head. "It's for something else, mom. You're not worried about me getting into trouble, are you?"

His mom smirked. "We both you can handle yourself just fine, Danny. Just make sure you get back before it's too late."

"Sure thing, mom."

Danny raced up to his room, quickly showered, and changed into clothes compatible with his ghost half. He then rushed down into the lab and activated the portal, the familiar green swirl greeting his eyes.

What he wasn't expecting, however, was the arguing voices of two ghosts in the Zone beyond. One of them sounded like Pandora, and the other…Ember?

"I thought they got along just fine," Danny thought confused, but quickly refocused. If there was an argument going on between his friends, then he should probably get it sorted out quickly. He changed into his ghost form and flew into the portal. Sure enough, Ember and Pandora were there a few feet away, arguing with each other.

"Look…" Ember was saying with gritted teeth. Danny could tell that she was very close to losing her temper, and that the respect she had for the Ghost Council elder was one of the few things that was restraining her from doing so, "I'm telling you, I need to talk to the dipstick right…" she noticed Danny staring back at her. "Well, it's about time, baby pop!" she snapped. "Where the heck were you?"

"I was out training with my family," he answered back. "What's happening?"

"We've got a big problem, baby pop!" Ember exclaimed. Danny was surprised by the frantic look in her eyes, as he had always considered her one of the more level-headed ghosts out there despite her fiery personality. "I was passing by Clockwork's tower a few hours ago to try and get a pass out into the human world."

"I guess that didn't go too well, huh," Danny remarked.

"That's not the point!" she growled. "Because I could have sworn that I heard Plasmius' voice in that tower!"

The halfa froze. "Did…did you just say Plasmius?" he repeated, wanting to make sure that he had indeed heard the name of his arch-enemy.

Ember nodded grimly. "I dunno what he was doing in Clockwork's tower, baby pop, but from what I've heard I can guarantee that it isn't any good."

She was half-expecting Danny to immediately start preparing for another confrontation with his old nemesis. A small part of her even thought that Danny would start bolting to Clockwork's tower, demanding an explanation. Ember certainly wasn't expecting Danny to calm down and shrug, as if it didn't matter.

"Did you even hear me, Danny?" she nearly shouted, wondering if the halfa wasn't taking her seriously.

"I did," Danny replied calmly, "and I know he's caused a lot of problems for me before, but I honestly don't think him coming back is as much of a deal as many people might think."

The ghost diva stared blankly at him. "Come again?" she finally muttered.

"I mean, think about it, Em!" he insisted. "What's Vlad gonna do? I'll admit he had a lot of cards to play back before the whole Disasteroid thing. He was rich, he was famous, he had a lot of resources, and nobody knew what he was doing. And he had years of experience with his ghost powers, way ahead of anything I could pull off." He suddenly smirked. "But none of that's true anymore. After the whole Disasteroid thing, the GIW came and took all of his money away. What they could find of it, anyway."

"What, REALLY?" Ember's eyes bulged, and she couldn't entirely hide the greed in her next question. "Who has it now?"

Danny smirked. "You want some of it, don't you Em?" Ember had the grace to look embarrassed as he shrugged. "They gave Tuck a decent amount. I think the government took most of it, especially the Guys in White. But anyway, Vlad will be lucky to even have his mansion at this point. And everyone knows that he's one of the bad guys now, so there goes all of his positive reputation, secrecy, and resources. I'm pretty sure the world hates him by now."

The ghost diva thought for a moment. "You know, baby pop…" she finally said, "I think that's also true here too. From what I can think of, Skulker was the only ghost around here who really actually wanted to work with him. As for the rest of the guys the cheesehead hired…they only did that because they had to. Nobody really liked the guy, especially not after the whole Pariah Dark bullcrap."

Danny frowned. "Didn't the Fright Knight make a deal with him?"

Ember snorted. "Pfft, your head's full of air if you think Fright Knight was gonna stick around with Plasmius any longer than he had to, dipstick. He'd probably be insulted by the idea now that the cheesehead screwed up. Heck, you could probably ask him about it and he'd gladly spill the beans since he works for the old timer now."

"Yeah, I think I'll ask him about that," the Champion agreed. "The only thing I'm not entirely sure about between us is experience and power, but Clockwork's really helped me there. I honestly don't think Vlad can do anything to me anymore." His eyes narrowed and blazed red. "If he hurts Dani, on the other hand…"

"If he puts a finger on the little dipper I'll bash his head in with my guitar," Ember promised quickly. Even now, after they'd cemented their friendship a while ago, seeing Danny with the "angry red ghost eyes" thing still spooked the crap out of her.

"Good enough for me," Danny replied, his anger fading. "Point is, what can Vlad actually do? He has no friends, no connections, no power advantage, nothing. He's lost."

The ghost diva was almost convinced by her friend's conviction, but there was just one question she had left. "All right, then, dipstick, tell me this. How the heck do you know that he won't join up with that evil side of yours?"

To her surprise, Danny actually started _laughing_. "Pfffttt…" he snorted, "I think you're forgetting about the fact that Dan's permanently working for Clockwork now. And besides, do you seriously think he's going to let the cheesehead succeed where he failed? He hates the fruit loop even more than he hates me!"

Ember wasn't sure how to reply to that. "But seriously, Em," Danny continued, having calmed down, "Vlad can't do anything to me anymore. I know why you're worried, but if Clockwork brought him here I'm sure he can deal with it. Right now, I've got more important things to deal with."

"Like what?" she asked skeptically.

"Finishing my ghost realm," Danny answered proudly. "Gonna suit up in the Ecto-Skeleton and wrap everything up here and now. It's gonna be great!"

The undead rocker whistled in surprise. "Well, I'll guess I'll tag along then, baby pop. Ain't got anything better to do."

"Sure!" Danny shrugged. "There's actually a couple of things I need to ask you about anyway. You ever consider yourself a party girl? Ever hang out at bars a lot?"

Ember smirked. "What do you think, dipstick? When you've got a career like mine, there's no limit to where you can go."

"Great," the halfa grinned, "then you're gonna like what I'm going to do next."

_A few minutes later, at Danny's realm…_

"Got your Ecto-Skeleton all ready to go, baby pop?" Ember asked as she and Danny looked over his ghost realm, the latter now fully decked up in his power armor.

"You bet!" he replied. "It's about time I finished this up."

He flew towards his island and pointed his hand outward. For the next few hours, Ember watched as her friend channeled the raw ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone to make his creation a reality. An ornate and honestly pretty cool-looking structure started to come into existence in the center of the realm, with an arched ceiling and glass windows and doors covering the front of the building. There were several open spaces in the sides and back of the main building that Ember assumed to be doors, which were immediately covered up by other buildings.

"The heck is baby pop making?" the undead rocker thought blankly as Danny finished forming the outer structure of his bar. "Uh…this looks kinda nice and all," she said out loud, "but I have no idea what you're doing, dipstick."

"You'll see," Danny promised with a grin. He landed on the ground of his island and marched into the building he had just created, pushing the door open with his Ecto-Skeleton's massive hand. Ember was about to follow him, but a brilliant flash of green light suddenly burst from the windows and door, forcing her to retreat and turn her eyes away to avoid being blinded. The light continued to glow for several minutes on end, and when it finally died down Ember's impatience got the better of her. She instantly flew down to the ground of the Ghost Realm and pushed the door open.

"Whoa…" she breathed as soon as she walked in. It wasn't a fully finished product by any means, that was going to take a more time, effort, and possibly other ghosts…but Danny had definitely gotten off a very good start. Scattered throughout the room were several tables and booths, a few of them large enough for even Skulker's metal suit to sit in. There was also a bar in the back of the room that covered most of the wall, with a large booth and barstools in the front and what looked suspiciously like a large beer-rack in the back.

"Hey, baby pop!" Ember called with a smirk. "Aren't you supposed to be Amity Park's big hero? I didn't take you as the kind of guy who takes a drink once in a while."

Danny shrugged. "I'm not actually sure what I'm going to be putting here right now," he replied. "I'm gonna have to figure a lot of the details out later. For now though, let me show you around."

As he guided her towards one of the doors scattered around (presumably leading to the smaller buildings she had seen Danny built earlier), Ember's eyes picked up on the design of the floor: a sizable portion of it was covered by a square, and her rocker sense was telling her it was large enough to be a dance floor or even a stage. "Is that…" she thought for a moment, then she shook the thought out of her head, "…nah…can't be…"

_One tour later…_

"Damn, baby pop!" Ember whistled as they walked back outside. "I had no idea you could make a place this big so quickly!"

Even though he had only really finished up the basic design, it was still a lot more impressive than what most ghosts could have done in so short a time. The buildings to the right were composed of several much smaller rooms, each of which could fit around 5-10 people. Apart from a large table and some sofas and couches, the rooms had been left mostly empty so that whichever ghosts were inside could use the space for themselves. "Might not be bad for practicing my guitar whenever I get sick of my place," Ember thought to herself.

What REALLY got her interest was the building to the left side, the one closest to the arena. It was MUCH larger than the main bar, and it was quite clear from the beginning that it was meant to be a training grounds of some sort. The vast majority of the Internet was an open field not unlike a smaller version of the Phantom arena, and surrounding it was a ring of rooms that, were filled with fitness gear and machines.

"This one's still not quite done yet," Danny replied. "I'm going to have to work on the finer details later, and unlike my mansion or the arena I'm going to need to hire some ghosts to work here."

Ember smirked. "Baby pop, you're the Champion of the Primordials. You could just order them to do it…yeah, yeah," she added as she noticed Danny's frown, "you have to be the hero, you don't want to force people to do things they don't want to, blah blah blah. Seriously, Phantom, you don't have to be the goody two-shoes of Amity Park a hundred percent of the time."

"It isn't that easy, Em," Danny challenged.

"Ghostly obsession, huh?" she asked. When Danny nodded, she shrugged. "Huh. You don't really act on it that strongly compared to other ghosts I've seen. Must be cause of your human half or something."

The halfa thought for a moment. "If that's true then how do you explain Plasmius?"

"The guy's a nutjob," Ember snorted. "And from what I've heard, he got his powers from a giant ecto-blast to the face. If that didn't mess with his brain somehow, then I'll go camping in the Far Frozen for an entire month."

Danny tried to picture the ghost rocker in a fur coat pitching a tent in Frostbite's kingdom, and immediately tried not to laugh.

"What's so funny, dipstick?" she glared at him.

"Nothing, nothing," the hero denied. "So what do you want to do now? I still have an hour or two before I have to go back."

"Let's hit that mansion of yours," Ember decided. "I spent all day trying to look for you and I think right now I just want to rot my brain in front of the TV."

Danny grinned. "Race ya there," he declared.

"You're on, dipstick!"

_Clockwork's Tower_

"Do you see now, Vladimir?" Clockwork asked as he stared down at the helpless Plasmius. "The victory that you desire has been lost to you forever. You sacrificed your king in pursuit of the queen, and your foolishness has cost you everything. The veil of secrecy has been lifted from your true nature, and the vices in your heart laid bare to the world. Your name is reviled across the realms of the living and the dead, and your former allies have abandoned you."

Vlad bared his teeth in anger. "My life was ruined the moment that buffoon Fenton showed me that accursed ghost portal of his!" he shouted furiously. "Are you not already satisfied that my life is an endless cycle of despair and loneliness? Must you mock me and beat me down when I'm already at my lowest?"

"That is no one's fault but your own, Plasmius," the Master of Time coldly replied. "Countless opportunities have passed that could have given you the happiness that you seek, happiness without any trace of Madeline Fenton. You are the one who rejected them, in some ways cruelly." His eyes narrowed. "You may think that your ghostly obsession is the mother of my Champion, Plasmius, but that is a falsity and a delusion. Your obsession is your ideal of achieving perfection, a vision of a perfect life that leaves absolutely no room for compromise in its pursuit."

"Then do tell me, _Primordial_…" Vlad spat with as much vitriol as he could muster, "how is it my fault then if that accident is what gave me that obsession to begin with?"

"You are only half ghost, Plasmius. Similar to Phantom, you are not beholden to your obsession as other ghosts are, and even now you may yet overcome it and fundamentally alter it to one that would better both you and the world around you. Yet you still cling to that ideal of perfection, even as it has dragged you further into depravity and despair."

Clockwork suddenly turned to the largest of his screens. "You blame Jack Fenton as the cause of all your problems, yet he is not the one responsible for the turmoil that thunders in your soul. Phantom came to me once in a time of great need, and I presented him with the solution through a vision of his future. For you, Vladimir Masters, I shall adopt a different strategy." Clockwork's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I will show you the light…through the shadows of the past."

/

Whoo! This was a long time coming! Danny's finally finished up with the last part of his realm! The basic fundamentals, anyway. The bar/gym is a more complicated place than the mansion, park, or arena (given that it's probably going to be the most public and used part of Danny's realm) so our favorite half-ghost still has some work to do. But that's for a future chapter.

And as for Plasmius, well…it won't be easy for Clockwork to try and show him the error of his ways. But the Master of Time is the one holding all of the cards now, as demonstrated through his subjugation of Dan. If Vlad refuses to listen, the only one he'll be hurting is himself…

Read and review please!


	25. Chapter 25 - Lifting the Veil of Time P1

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, I've had a very busy past few weeks. Finals, spring break absence, etc. etc. But I am still here, and it is time to continue working!

DISCLAIMER: I have no clue how insurance actually works, so if what happens in this chapter isn't possible IRL then I apologize.

Chapter 25 – Lifting the Veil of Time, Part 1

_Clockwork's Tower_

"So here we are," Clockwork said almost conversationally as he stared Plasmius directly in his eyes. "We have come to a pivotal point that will determine your future. The Observants wish for me to…how shall I put? Ah, yes…remove you from the equation entirely. And while I have never seen fully eye-to-eye with them on most occasions, their approach is entirely understandable given the circumstances."

Vlad felt a chill run down his spine. "What do you mean by that?"

Clockwork frowned. "Had I not intervened and retrieved you from space, the timeline that would have ensued would have resulted in chaos and destruction on a horrific scale. You would have been corrupted beyond all hope of redemption, and the world would suffer because of it. That is something that neither I nor the Observants will allow. And I am more than capable of making sure of that."

"Are you…threatening me?" Vlad's eyes narrowed, as if challenging the Primordial. But in truth, what he felt was not pride or confidence, but fear. If Clockwork truly was as powerful as the legends told, then he was completely powerless and he knew it.

"No," the Master of Time replied. "You see, Vladimir, despite all of the evil actions you have committed and your countless schemes to usurp power over the Ghost Zone, I am more interested in helping you than harming you. But first, you must overcome your obsession for perfection."

"That is all I have!" Vlad snarled. "Ever since that buffoon Jack Fenton blasted me with that accursed portal in college, my life was ruined!"

Clockwork smiled humorlessly. "You are, or rather were, one of the richest and most powerful men in the entire world. There are countless individuals across the whole moral spectrum, who would disagree with you. And even though I could condemn you for taking advantage of your ghostly powers in such a manner, such acts alone hardly label one as a monster beyond redemption. I have witnessed several timelines, all of which started in that accident, but have ended in dramatically different ways."

The Master of Time raised his staff and pointed it at a large screen. The monitor buzzed and flickered to life, revealing Vlad's mansion in Wisconsin. Vlad could see the light of several ghost rays, Danny's green and his own red, flashing from behind the mansion.

"Oh, huzzah," Vlad muttered sarcastically. "I suppose we're having yet another tiresome fight, aren't we?"

"Not exactly."

The monitor zoomed forward, past the mansion into the grounds beyond. Vlad could see both Danny and himself in ghost form, but they weren't fighting each other at all. Instead, they were facing several targets that had been erected, all of which were moving side to side on some machinery.

"_All right then, little badger," _the Vlad in the screen smiled at the alternate Danny, _"you might be able to fire Ghost rays one at a time without a problem. But how well do you think you can accurately shoot a volley of them at once, hmmm?" _He raised his right hand and several blasts shot out of it, all of which hit their targets effortlessly.

"_No problem, fruit loop!" _the alternate Danny smirked. _"Anything you can do, I can do better!"_ The young halfa shot out seven ghost rays at the moving targets...only to miss more than half of them.

"_An outstanding performance, young Daniel," _the alternate Vlad deadpanned. _"Truly spectacular! Such impeccable accuracy would make Jack and Maddie proud."_

"_Hey!" _alternate Danny grumbled. _"At least it's still better than my dad."_

Alternate Vlad chuckled. _"Don't I know it, little badger. Don't I know it."_ He looked at his watch. _"I suppose you must be going soon, little badger. Your parents will be here to pick you up within the hour."_

Alternate Danny smiled. _"Thanks for helping me out, Vlad." _He said with a gratitude that Vlad had wished for years that the real Danny would give him.

"_Anything for my bright young student!" _Vlad replied, and then the screen faded out.

"What was…that?" the real Plasmius asked, stunned.

"That?" Clockwork pointed his staff at the blank screen. "That was an alternate timeline, in which you were able to overcome your grudge against Jack Fenton and made no attempts to steal his family or conquer the world. The rest of the timeline is remarkably similar to the current one for the most part, except that when you first confronted Daniel Fenton, you merely offered to be his mentor and teacher. Because you did not antagonize his family, Danny accepted your offer, and your tutelage would allow him to become an even better protector of Amity Park than he was at the equivalent point in THIS timeline."

"And how is this relevant to me now?" Vlad snapped. "It's far too late for that timeline to become my reality! And even if it could be done, why should I stop hating that imbecile?"

Clockwork frowned. "I see that you will need to take more convincing. Very well. Your perspective is merely one aspect of the past, completely blinded and oblivious to events that occurred in the eyes of others," he informed him. "Perhaps your heart will soften when the events of the past are revealed to you in full…and many misconceptions that you once held are cleared away."

The screen flickered to life again, revealing a hospital room. Vlad's eyes widened as he realized that he was seeing himself in the hospital bed, back when he was in his college years. His face was covered in the accursed Ecto-acne, the disease that had ruined any chance he had ever had of living a normal life.

"The Ecto-acne was a symptom of you receiving ghost powers in an indirect and chaotic manner," Clockwork explained. "As your human and ghost halves integrated together, the Ecto-acne would fade over time. For humans, contracting this disease would be unquestionably fatal. For half-ghosts, it would certainly be debilitating, but not deadly."

"Then, do tell me," Vlad asked, curiosity beginning to override his originally hostile behavior, "why did it return a few months ago?"

Clockwork frowned. "A destabilization of your halfa nature induced by age," he replied. "Fortunately, it was cured by the efforts of my Champion and his family. You will not have to worry about it occurring again, though in your current state that is arguably the least of your problems. Now then," he pointed at the screen, "watch."

The screen shifted perspective to outside of the hospital room, where a young Jack and Maddie were talking to a doctor.

"We'll see what we can do," the doctor was saying to them. "Unfortunately, if what you're saying really is true, then there's little we can do at the given moment because we know next to nothing about supernatural diseases."

Maddie sighed. "We understand, doctor. Thank you."

"There is one other issue we must address," the doctor continued. "The issue of cost. Vladimir has no insurance to pay for his stay in the hospital. He may end up having to pay a substantial amount of money, enough to potentially ruin his college career."

Jack buried his face in his hands. "Vladdie loved college, it was something he lived for!" he mumbled. He suddenly looked up. "I know what to do," he declared with a clarity and seriousness uncharacteristic for such a goofy man. "I'll pay for most of it."

"What?" both Maddie and the doctor exclaimed.

"You heard me," Jack pressed on. "We may not be like those high and mighty Ultra-Posh-Poulter-Heights moneybags, but the Fenton family has plenty of money in its pockets! We'll use our insurance and our money to cover most of the cost. It's the least I can do…"

"Jack…" Maddie breathed, her eyes shining with a newfound respect for her friend.

"Oh, and before I forget," Jack told the doctor, "don't tell Vladdie that I'm paying for his hospital stay. This was my fault, and right now he'll just think I'm sucking up to him."

The screen flickered and the image vanished. Vlad thought back to when he had checked out of the hospital, and how he had been utterly astonished to learn how little he would be required to pay, especially given how he had no insurance at the time. "Are you telling me…" he asked Clockwork slowly, "that _Jack Fenton_ was the one to pay for my hospital stay?"

"Indeed," the Primordial of Time confirmed as he coolly smiled at his guest. "I know your thoughts and your mind, Vladimir. You believed that, for all of this time, Jack Fenton abandoned any responsibility for the accident that gave you your powers. That he tossed you aside and stole Maddie away, never once looking back at the roommate and companion he had made. But tell me something, Vladimir. You did not command vast wealth all those years ago. How would you have fared if Jack had not covered the cost of your hospital stay?"

"..." Vlad didn't have a response.

"The Fenton family, both in the past and present, is wealthier than you believe," Clockwork continued. "You see them as commoners, but how do you think they were able to build Fentonworks AND sustain the numerous experiments they conduct on a regular basis? I will not pretend that they possess the resources that you owned prior to the Disasteroid, but by no means is wealth an obstacle to their lives."

"That buffoon still has much to answer for!" Vlad shook his head angrily, the hatred he had for his former roommate still clinging to him. "Perhaps Jack Fenton did genuinely care about my well-being and tried to help me the best he could. Fine. Assuming that you are not lying, I'll admit you proved your point."

Clockwork smiled dryly. "I have no reason whatsoever to lie to you, Vladimir Masters. None whatsoever."

"But still!" Vlad declared angrily. "Even if he paid for my hospital bills, if he truly was sorry then he would have at least tried to keep in contact with me! And even after all of that, it still doesn't change the fact that Jack Fenton stole my beloved Maddie away from me! Of that, he is still guilty!"

The Temporal deity's eyes narrowed. "Open your eyes, Masters. The former was your fault, not his. Have you forgotten? After you recovered from the hospital, even with the opportunity my student's father gave to you, you dropped out of college regardless and vanished off the face of the Earth. You left no method for Jack Fenton, or indeed anyone from your past, to contact you in any way. It was then that you began formulating your plans to abscond with the wealth of the great businessmen of that time period to become one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet. And as for Jack and Maddie…"

He pointed at the screen, which flickered to life instantly. "Their bond was sealed long before you entered their lives."

The screen revealed Amity Park in a much earlier timeline, where a high school-age Jack and Maddie were sitting together at a restaurant, both dressed in fancy clothes. It was clear to Vlad that they were on a date of some kind.

"So, whattaya think, Mads?" Jack asked, gazing lovingly into his future wife's eyes. "I got us in the best restaurant this side of Amity Park."

"Oh, Jack…" Maddie replied with a content smile. "This was one of the best nights of my life. The food, the atmosphere, all of it's so perfect!"

Jack grinned. "And our night's only just beginning, Mads! We have all of the time in the world to ourselves!" he frowned. "At least until your parent's curfew."

"Oh, psssshhhh…" Maddie waved her hand dismissively. "My parents really couldn't care less about that silly old thing."

"WHAT?" Vlad shouted, shocked beyond belief. "THE TWO OF THEM WERE ALREADY DATING BEFORE I EVER MET THEM?"

Clockwork chuckled, amused by his over-the-top reaction. "While they did not fully declare their love to each other until after their college years, their lives are intertwined more deeply than you could possibly imagine. From childhood friends to a family united by a common interest, their destinies together were set in stone long ago."

The screen shifted to Jack and Maddie continuing on their date, walking together happily in a park under the night sky. "I've always wondered something, Maddie…" Jack suddenly asked her. "When you grow up and get a job, what do you want to do?"

"I've already told you that, Jack," she replied with a smile. "A scientist! A researcher!"

"Well, yeah..." Jack agreed, "but _what_ do you want to research?"

Maddie's smile disappeared. "It's…well, it's kind of silly, really. If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh?"

Jack snorted. "It can't be any worse than what I want to study."

"It's….ghosts…" Maddie admitted. "I want to study ghosts."

Jack's eyes widened. "Ghosts?" he breathed.

"It's stupid," Maddie muttered. "I know the supernatural isn't supposed to exist. But part of me always wondered…do they actually exist? Do they come from somewhere? And if the answer to both of those questions is yes, is it possible to find out what they are and where they come from?" She snorted. "It's stupid, I know. Forget I told you…"

"No, Mads…" Jack interrupted her. "The thing is…that's always something I've been interested in too. I just didn't want to tell anybody before now because I thought they'd just laugh at me. Not that they don't do that already," he added with a grumble.

Maddie's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, stunned. "You're interested in ghosts too?"

"Yep!" Jack replied with a grin. "You know what, Maddie? We should be a team! We can research together, and we'll find out everything there is to know about ghosts!"

Maddie's eyes blurred with tears as she wrapped her future husband in a tight hug. "We'll do it, Jack! We'll be the best ghost researchers ever!"

Vlad stared as the screen flickered died, all of his beliefs and perceptions shattering in his mind. He had been wrong about so many things from the very beginning. About Jack Fenton, about his chances with Maddie…his vengeance had been pointless, his ambitions geared towards an empty and meaningless goal.

"So from the very beginning," he spat bitterly, "I was doomed to fail. Never to win the love of Maddie, never to have a loving family of my own."

"Perhaps the former," Clockwork agreed, "but certainly not the latter. Many women would certainly be attracted to Vladimir Masters the billionaire, with good and kindhearted personalities as well as selfish and opportunistic ones. But you blinded yourself from them all in the hopes of achieving the ultimate prize. A prize that you would never be able to claim."

"And I suppose that any hopes of having Daniel accept me as a father were doomed from the start?"

"In this timeline, yes," the Master of Time nodded. "But just because he would not accept you as father, that does not mean that he wouldn't have turned to you as a friend and mentor. If you had not allowed wickedness and greed to rule your mind, the image that you saw earlier might very well have become reality."

His red eyes narrowed. "I have said this before, Plasmius, and I will say it again. You could have been so much happier, if only you were willing to settle for less. It is your obsession with your own idea of perfection that ruined your opportunities."

Plasmius sighed, feeling utterly defeated. "Just…tell me this, Clockwork," he asked slowly. "Is there any alternate universe, any at all, where Daniel would truly accept me as father and family?" Surely there was at least one timeline where the possibility existed!

To his surprise, Clockwork nodded. "Yes, Plasmius. Such timelines do exist. Daniel Fenton would come to accept you as family in certain parallel dimensions. But…" to the halfa's surprise, a look of sadness and sympathy crossed his face, "those timelines are filled with great suffering and anguish. Both for you, and for Daniel. While my champion and student did undergo many trials in the current universe that we dwell in, for the most part he has been blessed to live in a universe in which many events and circumstances played out to his favor and good fortune. In these other timelines, fate dealt him a much crueler hand."

The Master of Time stared directly into Vlad's eyes. "I will show some of these to you, since you asked. But I warn you now…though you may achieve your ultimate goal in the end, I can assure you with absolute certainty that you will not like what you see."

/

And done! Slowly but surely, Clockwork is beginning to break down the mentalities that contributed to Vlad's evil ambitions. He has seen the past, and in the next chapter he'll be shown the (alternate) present and the future. And I think we all know exactly _which_ future Clockwork will be showing him…

I was gonna have this part originally be a one-shot, but it is way too long for me to write all in one chapter.

Read and review please!


	26. Chapter 26 - Lifting the Veil of Time P2

A/N: The thing that's so great about Clockwork is that the various alternate timelines that he witnesses can easily be alternate universes created by Fanfiction writers. I do not plan on referencing specific fanfics, however, but rather general themes that you've possibly (if not likely) seen recurring in fanfics. I apologize if I accidentally end up plagiarizing anybody's plots; that is not my intention by any means.

Chapter 26 – Lifting the Veil of Time, Part 2

_Clockwork's Tower_

"What in the name of chocolate cake are you blathering about, Master of Time?" Vlad demanded. "I possessed wealth and resources so vast that the business world all but bowed before me! The little badger would want for nothing under my care!"

Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "Are you so sure about that?" he challenged coldly, pointing his staff at the screen, which began to flicker into life again. "I am not so certain that the young Phantom would agree."

Vlad turned his head to gaze at the monitor, which focused onto the street outside of Fentonworks in the night sky. He barely had time to register his bearings before a figure suddenly crashed onto the sidewalk, undoubtedly having fallen from a great height. Vlad's eyes widened as he realized it was Danny, badly beaten and wounded. Tears of sorrow and desperation were flowing down the boy's cheeks as the front door to Fentonworks swung open. Jack and Maddie stormed out of the building, weapons aimed at the ghost child.

From the moment he had begun conducting his operations against them, Vladimir Masters had never feared either Jack or Maddie Fenton. The former he had believed to be a harmless and incompetent buffoon, and he had regarded the latter's skills with a detached and professional respect (when he had not been infatuated with her, that is). Neither of them had ever given him reason to fear them…until now. Their faces, which had always looked upon their children with the concern and compassion befitting of a loving family, had been distorted and twisted almost beyond recognition with sheer hatred and ferocity.

"You're not my son!" Maddie spat venomously at the fallen Danny. "You're nothing but an ectoplasmic waste of space! How dare you leech off of _our_ resources, off of _our _love!"

If anything, Jack's visage was even more terrifying to behold, if only because of his normally goofy and cheerful demeanor. "It's time you actually do some good in our world for a change!" he snarled. "Because when we get our hands on you, we're going to rip you apart molecule by molecule!"

The two of them aimed their weapons at Danny, who to Vlad's immense relief still had enough strength to dodge these attacks and then flee down the streets as quickly as he could possibly manage. But his relief was short-lived, for Jack and Maddie were shouting curses and threats after the little badger, promising to hunt him down to the ends of the earth.

Vlad stared, aghast, as his mind slowly processed what had just happened. How could two parents treat their own son in such a despicable manner? To not only reject him, but actively attack and attempt to _murder_ him? He had always considered the possibility of Danny's parents rejecting his halfa nature, but to actually _see_ those events play out in front of him...

"Impossible!" he spat. "Those disgraceful _imposters_ are not my little badger's parents! My dearest Madeline would never abuse her son in such a shameful manner!"

"In this world, in this time, you are absolutely correctly," Clockwork agreed. "But in other timelines, they were not so accepting of their son's ghostly nature. It is a sad truth that the very same individuals who are defined by love and compassion in one timeline, may be consumed by hatred in another. And as you will see, in many of these timelines, the roles that you and Danny's parents play are often reversed."

The screen flickered to life again, and Vlad recognized his own bedroom in his Wisconsin mansion, where he was about to retire for the night. All of a sudden, the doorbell began to echo loudly throughout the mansion, jolting his alternate self awake. "Who in butter biscuits could that be?" the alternate Vlad growled as he turned intangible and flew to the entrance hall of his mansion. "If that idiotic butler forgot his keys again I swear I'm going to find a replacement!" he all but snarled as he unlocked the door and swung it open.

"What do you…" the alternate Vlad's words died in his throat as he stared down in utter shock at the huddled, broken figure in front of him. Now that the chaos of battle had passed, both Vlads could see just how badly Danny had been injured at the hands of his parents. Scars and gashes were all over his body, and his trademark jumpsuit was tattered and barely intact. This alternate Danny looked up at his nemesis, and Vlad could see only desperation, fear, and despair in his eyes. It was remarkable that he even had the strength to fly all the way to Wisconsin to begin with.

"Vlad…." He whispered. "Please…help…me…you…win…" and with that, the halfa child collapsed unconscious on the doorstep. The Vlad in the timeline wasted no time in picking up the child and delivering him straight to his ghost lab, where he began infusing the unconscious Danny with therapeutic ectoplasm to heal his wounds. Once that was done, the alternate Vlad carried Danny up to his guest bedroom (the same one where he had stayed the first time) and laid him carefully on the bed. The screen flickered and zoomed forward until Danny woke up in the bed, the alternate Vlad looking at the alternate Danny with concern and worry.

"Wha…" Danny croaked as he groggily sat up. "Where…where am I?"

"In one of my many guest rooms, little badger," Vlad replied solemnly. "The very same guest room that you stayed in here when you first came to my mansion. Are you feeling well?"

"Ugh…" the halfa hero muttered. "My parents…my…my parents…" Vlad, both the real one and the one on the screen, looked shocked as they realized that Danny was on the verge of crying. A sign of vulnerability that he had NEVER displayed in front of him.

"What is it?" Vlad asked, worried. "What about your parents?"

And Danny broke down completely. "They…they rejected me!" he yelled, letting the tears flow freely. "I told them that I was half-ghost! And then they…they….they yelled and cursed at me…they tried to attack me…"

The alternate Vlad's eyes widened in horror, and even the present day Vlad couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy despite the years of animosity between him and the other halfa. He had admittedly considered the possibility of Danny's parents rejecting him over his ghostly nature, but that path had been nothing but an irrational fear in the current timeline. Now, however, he was seeing that reality play out before him, and it was just as horrific as he had once feared.

"Impossible!" the alternate Vlad declared. "Surely Maddie wouldn't commit this sort of atrocity against her own child!"

The Danny on the screen laughed bitterly. "That what you think, fruit loop? Well, guess what? She was gonna tear me to pieces slowly for her freaking _experiments_!" he snarled, and the alternate Vlad winced at the ferocity in his voice. "At least Dad was going to make it quick. Of course they wouldn't accept a half-ghost son, they've always thought that all ghosts are evil!"

The alternate Vlad sat quietly, his mind processing what the young halfa was telling him. Then, slowly, his countenance transformed into pure, terrifying rage.

"So this is how they treat their only son," he spat, his eyes blazing red. "Those incompetent imbeciles could only _dream_ of accomplishing what you have done. And to treat you in such a disgraceful matter…completely and utterly despicable! Rest assured, my dear Daniel, that this will not go unanswered!"

As Vlad stared mesmerized at his alternate self, Clockwork watched silently to the side. Although Vlad had long chased after Maddie from the shadows of obscurity, it had been Danny Phantom on whom he had pinned his hopes, ambitions, and dreams. Maddie was a fading dream from years long past, but here was another halfa, the second of his kind, someone who could understand the many struggles that he had faced in his long life. Clockwork knew that even if Vlad had succeeded in making a clone of Danny, deep down what he wanted most above all was to have the original by his side. What Vlad _didn't _know was the cost that Danny would have to pay for that reality.

"This is not Maddie…" the real Vlad muttered under his breath. "This _cannot_ be Maddie! To engage in such atrocious behavior…"

"Different timelines," Clockwork's voice permeated into his mind. "Different rules. Different personalities. Different outcomes."

The screen flickered and buzzed again, and this time Vlad was sitting in an armchair, shouting into his golden telephone with an expression of pure fury and disgust on his face.

"And just why should I help you hunt the ghost child, Madeline?" he snarled. "He's done far more to protect the city of Amity Park than you or that buffoon Jack Fenton ever have! And don't get me started on _the facts_," he spat the words with as much vitriol as he could muster. "I have collected detailed statistics of Amity's welfare with and without Danny Phantom's involvement, analyzed by some of the greatest scientists and economists the Midwest has to offer. And all of them, ALL OF THEM, have concluded that despite the collateral damage from Phantom's battles, the city of Amity would have suffered FAR more serious damage without his actions."

A female voice was yelling incoherent words at the Vlad in the screen, causing his expression to become even darker if possible. "So a few ghosts show up over and over again, you automatically assume that every ghost in existence is evil? Well, you seem to have forgotten the basics of science by jumping to such a conclusion based on a pathetically small sample size." he mocked. "Then where is your evidence? Your scientific facts? WHAT research, WHAT methodology, and most importantly, WHAT RESULTS do you have to show me that ghosts are innately evil? WHERE. IS. YOUR. PROOF!" he shouted the last words.

Clockwork watched the screen impassively. The Vladimir in front of him now couldn't have possibly known this, but he had had a similar conversation with Phantom's parents himself a few days after his student and champion had revealed himself to the world. He himself had brought up many of the same arguments that this alternate Vladimir was now hurling at the alternate Maddie, breaking down the notion that all ghosts were evil. But his words had been spoken with understanding and compassion, to gently guide the Fenton parents into accepting the Ghost Zone as he and Danny knew it, and not as a festering breeding ground of evil. But such acceptance would be all but impossible in this timeline, and Vlad justifiably harbored no such compassion.

"I'm going to say this once, Madeline, and only once!" the alternate Vlad hissed. "You have, quite clearly, failed _spectacularly_ in your duties as a parent and a scientist. I will not help you in your deluded crusade against the little badger, not when he has been such a valuable asset to protecting Amity! If you _ever_ try to attack Danny Phantom ever again, rest assured," his eyes narrowed, "I will hunt you down and make you pay until the both of you are begging for death!" And with that, he slammed the phone so hard that it smashed into pieces.

The alternate Vlad forced himself to calm down, for it would not do for his little badger and soon-to-be adopted son to see him in such a wrathful state of mind. "Come in, little badger!" he called out, once he had reverted back to his tranquil nature.

The door slowly opened and Danny hesitantly walked into the room. "You're safe, Danny," Vlad assured him. "Those imbeciles who called themselves your parents will never lay a finger on you while I draw breath. This I swear!"

Danny's eyes welled with tears as the elder halfa extended his arms in a hug, and the exiled hero leapt into the embrace. "T-thank you, Vlad," he wept. "Y-you don't know how much this means to me."

"We're two of a kind, little badger," Vlad replied soothingly. "It's only natural for us to stick together." And with that, the screen disappeared into nothingness.

Clockwork turned towards the real Vlad, appraising him coolly. "Your past is an open book to me, Vladimir Masters. I know full well the abuse that you suffered at the hands of your own parents. Does the young Phantom truly deserve to endure abuse far worse than what you suffered, just so that you can have your dream?"

Plasmius said nothing, for his mind was roiling with emotions and conflicting thoughts. A mental battle between the sympathy he had felt for the Daniel in the alternate timeline, and his own inner greed and his ghostly obsession. Clearly, Vladimir would need some more convincing. And Clockwork knew all too well that sometimes, extremes were exactly what was needed.

"There are worse fates for Phantom than the one you saw before you," Clockwork's voice permeated his ears. "What I have you shown you just now is _nothing_ compared to the torment he could have experienced. You will learn soon enough the pain that he was forced to suffer across time and space, and you will know how great the cost of your obsession will truly be."

/

I feel like this chapter could have personally been written better, but given my current time constraints I wanted to leave you with something that has at least decent, if not spectacular quality.

I was originally gonna make this part have another scene from an alternate timeline, but I am currently suffering from a bit of Writer's Block (plus a busy schedule) and I don't want to keep you waiting for too long. Clockwork has plenty left to show Vlad, and it's only going to get worse from there.

In all seriousness though, I believe that any universe where Danny accepts Vlad as a surrogate father would have to be mutually exclusive with a universe with Danny's parents being good ones (and not ones who abuse him and/or hunt him down after finding out about his secret). There's no way that Danny would leave his parents with their canon personalities, but his parents' acceptance of his secret was only the BEST case scenario, and other timelines can and likely have been far, far worse…

Read and review please!


	27. Chapter 27 - Lifting the Veil of Time P3

A/N: Ever hear the saying from bad to worse? If Vlad didn't know what that meant before, he sure as hell will by the time Clockwork's done with him.

Chapter 27 – Lifting the Veil of Time P3

"Worse?" Vlad repeated, a chill running down his spine that had nothing to do with his ghostly nature. "How could anything possibly be worse?"

"The cruelty that Daniel's parents could potentially display towards their son runs deeper and blacker than you think," Clockwork coldly replied. "The universe that we exist in in the present is one that presented an extremely fortunate outlook for his life. Fate could have dealt the young Phantom a much more horrifying hand than even the one you witnessed just now….and in some universes, that is _exactly_ what has happened."

The Primordial pointed his staff at the giant screen again, and once more it flickered to life, this time to reveal the inside of the Fentonworks Lab. Before the image could even fully come into a focus, a horrifying scream of agony and fear blasted into Vlad's ears, causing him to instinctively cover his ears with his hands.

"What in the name of chocolate cake…" the former billionaire gasped. He looked up at the scream, and the source of those horrifying wails became agonizingly and terrifyingly clear. His long-time nemesis had been strapped to the operating table, thrashing viciously as Jack and Maddie blasted him with what appeared to be a technological version of the Ghost Stinger. Vlad realized with a growing feeling of dread that this timeline was, indeed, much worse than the one he had seen before. At least Danny had escaped then…this time, he wasn't so lucky.

"This is amazing!" the alternate Maddie exclaimed with a strange and savage combination of hatred and glee. "Who knew that ghosts could be so resistant to pain? We'll have to really amp up the power in our weapons if we want to take them down!"

"It gets better, Maddie!" Jack declared with a grin that, in this context, looked menacing on his normally jovial face. "Cause now that all of the preliminary data's outta the way, we can get to my favorite part!" He took out two wicked looking knives that glowed with green ecto-energy. "Taking this spook apart molecule by molecule!"

"I'M YOUR SON!" Danny yelled at them, writhing and flailing in his bounds. "I'M DANNY! DANNY FENTON! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?"

"Save it, spook," Maddie spat at him. "You're nothing but a worthless ghost. How dare you possess our son and claim to be our boy! You're about to get exactly what you deserve! Jack!" she called to her husband. "Let's shut him up once and for all!"

Vlad watched with growing horror as the two advanced upon Danny, weapons ready to tear him to pieces. What little remained of his composure was rapidly crumbling, and he whirled around to Clockwork with open panic in his eyes. "Isn't anyone going to do something?" he almost shouted at the Primordial.

Clockwork wordlessly pointed his finger at the screen, and Vlad turned his head back just in time to see a tremendous explosion blast apart the doorway leading up from the basement. A powerful red ghost ray shot out of the smoke and chaos, hitting Jack and sending him flying back into some of the machinery, which broke apart under his massive weight.

A blur suddenly flew into the room and grabbed Maddie by the wrist. Before she even had time to react, the figure lifted her up and hurled her across the room, and she collided into her husband with a loud crash. It was only when the figure stopped to glare at Danny's fallen parents did Vlad realize that the figure he was looking at was…

"You," Clockwork completed the thought. "You are Daniel's savior, as you were in the other timeline that I showed you. And your actions here are even more important now than they were then."

The alternate Vlad's eyes flashed dangerously as he quickly checked over Danny, relief flooding over his face as he realized that, apart from the pain from the electric torture, he had not been irrevocably damaged. Vlad quickly tore the straps off, and Danny weakly sat on the table.

"Wait a moment, little badger…" Vlad whispered before he whirled around towards Danny's parents, hatred blazing is his eyes.

"It's time I make sure that you never touch him again!" the elder halfa snarled as his fists glowed with ecto energy. Maddie was the first to recover, leaping onto her feet. She grabbed a gun from a nearby counter and fired it straight at Vlad, who effortlessly blocked it with a shield.

"You won't get away with this, ghost!" she spat. "When our anti-ghost defenses trigger, you're done for!"

To her surprise, Vlad only laughed at that proclamation. "Oh, really?" he sneered. "Then do tell me, why haven't they activated already, hmm? Surely they could have identified the presence of a ghost in your household for several minutes on end now, wouldn't you agree?"

Confusion appeared in Maddie's face, only to be replaced by horrified understanding. "I had an acquaintance of mine deactivate all of your so-called security mere moments before I began my assault!" Vlad revealed with a sneer. "So I'm afraid that won't help you now!"

Maddie tossed aside the gun and positioned her body into a battle stance, no doubt intending to overpower him with her martial arts ability. But Vlad had come prepared for that as well. His body immediately glowed and created three more duplicates, all of them leering menacingly at her.

"I know every trick in your book, Madeline," Vlad explained, his eyes burning with the promise of vengeance for daring to tear apart her only son. "At first, it was because I was because I was fixated on you and everything about you." Noticing the grimace of disgust, his eyes hardened and his grin faded. "Oh, but you don't have to worry about that. Not after what I've witnessed here today. Now, the only plan I have for you is to bring you and your idiot of a husband down right here and now!"

At this point, Jack Fenton had also recovered, and was unsteadily but furiously rising to his feet as well. "Let's take this spook down, Mads!" he snarled.

"I don't think so," the now-heroic halfa retorted. Maddie leapt forward and lunged at one of the Vlad while Jack took out his Ecto-bazooka and fired at another. All four Vlads immediately began to spin around in a blur, disappearing into massive and powerful ecto-tornados that raged throughout the entire Fenton lab. Maddie collided into one and was hurled with such force that she crashed into more equipment, the impact knocking her into unconsciousness. Jack's blast bounced harmlessly into another one of the Vlad tornados and flew straight towards the Ghost Portal. His eyes widening in panic, Jack barely had time to dodge out of the blast before it smashed into the Portal, causing a tremendous explosion as the rebounded attack instantly shredded the device into useless pieces.

Vlad, in the meantime, had not been idle. One of his duplicates had grabbed Maddie during the commotion and bound her with a net from the Fenton Grappler, while the other two had knocked the bazooka out of the Fenton Patriach's hands and grappled him tightly. The true Vlad floated up to the struggling Jack, appraising him coolly as he vainly attempted to break from the duplicates' iron grip.

"And to think, Jack Fenton," Plasmius pondered aloud, "that I had dreamed of this day for so many years. For such a long time, I could think of nothing but how to plan my revenge against you for ruining my life the way you did."

Jack glared at the specter. "What are you talking about," he snarled. "I didn't do anything to you! I don't even know you, spook!"

"Really, Jack Fenton? Is that so? Then perhaps it's time I enlighten you about the truth!" Two pairs of black rings formed around the true Vlad's waist and spread out in separate directions, shifting him from his ghost to his human form. Jack gaped in horror as his former college friend glared back at him, his lips curled in disgust and contempt.

"V…V…Vladdie…?" he breathed. "But…you…"

"You made my life a living hell for the past twenty years," Vlad ignored his incoherent stuttering. "That accident, your clumsiness, destroyed the life that I once lived as I know it. You have no idea of the struggles I've made, the strategies I planned to claw my way up to the top. And for all those years, every single day, I thought of nothing but how to plan my ultimate revenge."

The billionaire walked up to his helpless college roommate and stared him straight in the eyes. "But I've come for an entirely different reason today, Jack Fenton. After seeing what you did and what you planned to do to the little badger, I have a far more important reason for destroying the work that you hold so dear than simple revenge!"

The rings appeared around his waist again, and a few seconds later the ghostly Vlad Plasmius stood before him. "You will never see your son again, Jack Fenton. You and Madeline had a duty to protect him and love him, and you spat on that responsibility instead. You will never touch him and you will never harm him again. And it's time to make sure of that, here and now!"

Plasmius walked up to Jack, and then began to furiously bash him with his fists. Blow after blow smashed into the Fenton Patriarch, who struggled to keep consciousness under the relentless assault. The real Vlad could see the sadistic pleasure in his alternate counterpart's eyes as he finally unleashed the vengeance that he had wanted for so long, but it wasn't the main emotion in his eyes. No, what he saw more than a desire for vengeance was a grim resolve, the firm determination of someone protecting a friend from anything that would seek to bring the harm. It was for justice that the Vlad on the screen pummeled Jack into unconsciousness.

The billionaire hurled Jack's body next to his wife's, and then two of the duplicates disappeared. As the remaining one kept watch on the unconscious Fentons to make sure they didn't move or make any actions, the true Vlad floated up to Danny's trembling body and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Vlad…." Danny breathed, shivering from the memory of the horrors that had almost been inflicted upon him. "Is it…is it over…?"

"Yes, little badger…" he replied with a truly warm smile that contrasted sharply with the smug grin Danny was so used to, "it's over. They won't hurt you ever again. This I promise you…"

The screen flickered and faded away as Clockwork turned to face the stunned Vlad. "There are several alternate universes like this, Vladimir," he declared. "Universes where Danny's parents, and sometimes even his friends, betray his trust and turn on him. Universes where his very life is at stake because of their treacherous actions, universes where you are his savior and protector. But do you see the tremendous cost that Danny would have to pay? To have his own flesh and blood cast him aside and hunt him like an animal?" Several duplicates of Clockwork appeared and surrounded Vlad, all of them asking the same question in unison: "Is it truly worth it?"

Vlad closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. After a long time, he finally growled in defeat, "No. No, it isn't. Butter biscuits…" He looked up at the true Master of Time, his face filled with a sullen resignation. "You've made your point. In order for me to be the little badger's hero, his parents must be the villains. As much as I hate to even think about it, I understand the point that you're trying to make."

Then his face hardened. "But there is one thing that I cannot believe! You are telling me, that out of all of the alternate universes and timelines out there, that there is not a SINGLE one where the little badger accepts me AND his parents care for him as they have here? Absurd!" he almost shouted the last word. "There HAS to be one! I refuse to accept the possibility that it does not exist!"

The halfa looked hopefully at Clockwork, expecting him to confirm his hopes and beliefs. But to his dismay, Clockwork only narrowed his eyes and a deep frown stretched across his face.

"Such possibilities are fundamentally opposed to each other, Vladimir, and as such the likelihood of such a timeline occurring is extraordinarily rare," the Primordial explained coolly. His eyes narrowed, "As such, there is only one such universe where events played out that way."

Vlad instantly felt hope rise in his core, but the Master of Time's next words squashed it utterly: "And it is one of the worst of them all."

Plasmius fought the urge to protest, as much as he wanted to do so. The Primordial's words had proven correct time and time again, to doubt them now would only make a fool of himself. "Worst?" he could only whisper instead.

"As my brother Thanatos can tell you, Vladimir, there are far worse things than death," Clockwork replied. "And this timeline was so severe that it required my direct intervention to prevent. And the sheer tragedy would devastate not just Daniel, but you and the rest of the world as well."

The screen flickered to life one final time, and Vlad Masters could only watch in horror at the nightmare that unfolded. He saw Danny's friends and family being instantly obliterated by the explosion at the Nasty Burger, the look of despair on Danny's face as he realized that their deaths were his fault and his fault alone. He saw how Danny arrived at his mansion in his personal limousine, and how his alternate self greeted him as a father even with the conflicts of their past.

The scene shifted to Vlad's lab, and the current Vlad noticed the Ghost Gauntlets in his alternate self's hands. "I considered using those…" he admitted with a shudder, having a sinking feeling that they were about to play a direct role in the disaster to come. "I came very close…"

"But you chose to destroy them instead," Clockwork agreed, "a wise move on your part. You are about to see what would have happened if you hadn't."

And his words were confirmed moments later as alternate Vlad unleashed the claws in the Gauntlets and grabbed the ghost inside Danny, ripping it away from his human half and the emotions that still remained within. The isolated ghost half of Danny opened its eyes with an expression of pure fury, and knocked the alternate Vlad to the wall. The current Vlad gasped as this wrath-filled new version of Danny ripped apart his own ghostly self from his human self, and merged with it.

"And now…" Clockwork's voice seemed almost menacing in the midst of the nightmarish transformation that followed, "…the ultimate enemy is born."

Vlad gulped audibly in terror as Dan Phantom emerged from the horrific polymerization of the two ghost halves, a being of an evil unique and far greater than either Danny or Plasmius could ever have accomplished by themselves. As he stared in shock, the young Dan grabbed the cowering human form of Danny Fenton and lifted him into the air. The screen flickered into static for the briefest of moments, shielding Vlad from the atrocious murder that Dan was about to commit. The former billionaire was thankful for the momentary reprieve from the horror show before him, and he did not complain.

But whatever mercy Clockwork or his visions had vanished almost instantly, and now Vlad had front row seats to Dan's brutal campaign across the worlds of the living and dead. Ember, Johnny 13, Skulker, Technus…ghosts that Vlad recognized and had even had dealings with in the past…all of them, one by one, subjected to horrifying torture and grievous fates as the corrupted version of the little badger destroyed the happiness that gave their afterlives meaning.

"All this…" Vlad whispered. There was no smug attitude, no arrogance, no confidence whatsoever in his tone now. All that was left was disbelief and fear. "How can this even be possible?"

"One lapse of judgment was all it took…" Clockwork replied, his voice betraying nothing. "One poor choice to catalyze the disaster that you see before you. But there is something else that I want to show you in this timeline."

The screen flickered and changed again, this time revealing an isolated chamber in what Vlad recognized as his own mansion. The alternate Vlad's clothes, once pristine and elegant, were barely holding themselves together. The real Vlad was shocked to see that his counterpart was weeping openly as he sat on the couch, the tears flowing through his hands.

"Maddie…" he murmured. "Jack….I never wanted any of this to happen. I never wanted to bring the little badger to this horrid fate, or turn what had made him a hero into a monster."

He looked up and gazed sadly around the room. "Ever since I've been in hiding from that…hideous thing, I've been so alone. All the other ghosts brutalized by _him_ or hiding just as I am. No one to talk to. No one to _care_."

The alternate Vlad sighed heavily. "I've been a fool this whole time. Blinded by my own arrogance and thirst for vengeance. You treated me like friends even after all these years…but bit by bit I destroyed any chance of us returning to the way things were…before the accident, before ghosts, before _this_. And now it's too late." The tears began to flow out of his eyes again. "I'll never get that chance."

Vlad stood up from the chair and walked to the bookshelf that contained the picture of them in their college days. He had torn away Jack Fenton from that picture a long time ago, back when he had been consumed by lust for Maddie and hatred for Jack. But those corrupting emotions were now long gone. Slowly, meticulously, Vlad searched for the missing picture of Jack until he found it. Then, with some scotch tape and careful maneuvering with his fingers, he restored the picture until it showed the three of them together again. The faintest of tears would be all that would suggest that it had ever been ripped in the first place.

"This is all I can do now, my friends…" he whispered. "My last apology…for everything."

The screen flickered and died, and Vlad stared helplessly at Clockwork. He could only feel the same emotions that he had felt the day Jack had abandoned him on the Disasteroid. Vulnerable and helpless. Any semblance of control that he had attempted to hold on their discussion had long since been abandoned.

"Do you know what makes this timeline truly horrifying, Vladimir?" Clockwork asked him.

"Oh, I don't know!" Vlad replied sarcastically in a desperate attempt to hide his gnawing fear. "Perhaps it was the fact that I just witnessed an evil Daniel torture and massacre everything in his path! Perhaps it was the fact that everything that he knew and loved was obliterated in seconds! Or…" his voice rose to a shout, "…perhaps it was because this whole thing started because of one mistake that shouldn't have led to anything this ludicrous in the first place!"

"All _very_ excellent points," Clockwork conceded. "However, my answer differs from yours in spite of all of them. The other two timelines that I showed you, while indeed tragic, are merely windows of what could have, and did, occur in another time and another place." His eyes narrowed. "But this one? This one is different than the others…because it _actually happened_."

Vlad stared speechless at him, his jaw dropped open in horror. "You're lying!" he shouted. "I know full well how our timeline turned out, and I can assure that it is not this catastrophe!"

The Master of Time shook his head. "What you say is true, but what you witnessed here is the original direction of this particular timeline, Vladimir. It is only because I intervened on behalf of young Daniel that this fate was averted in the first place, and it required both my meticulous planning and Daniel's inner courage to rectify."

He suddenly smiled, and it wasn't the cold, calculating one that he had been wearing earlier. "The reason why I show you this, Vladimir, is because the Observants see only the future with you at your worst and most depraved. A future that could very well have happened had I not intervened directly. But I? I see all timelines, not just one, and I have also seen you at your best and most noble as well. And even in a future as dismal and corrupted as this, you played a key role in reversing it to what it is now."

He pointed at his monitor, and now Vlad could see his alternate self talking to the ACTUAL Danny Phantom. For the first time in living memory, he had never been so genuinely relieved and gladdened to see the little badger.

"I don't know how you'll be able to pull this off, little badger," the alternate Vlad was saying to Danny, the ghost gauntlets currently lodged within the halfa's body. "But something tells me that you'll be able to pull through and correct all this. And after all of your friends and family passed on the way they did, I just cannot bring myself to bring you to a similar end even if it will save this world that has become your future."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, cheesehead. I really wish you were like this in the past. You'd be a lot less annoying."

The alternate Vlad chuckled wryly. "I'm afraid I won't get that chance once you fix this timeline," he sighed. "But perhaps I will someday. Until then," he lifted out the ghost gauntlets, the medallion clasped within them, "I wish you the best of luck, little badger." His eyes hardened in determination as Danny began to fade away back to the past. "We'll need as much as we can get."

And finally, the visions on the monitor could give Vlad hope once more, as he witnessed Danny return to the past and finally defeat the evil being that he had become. As the screen died, the Primordial turned to face Vlad once again.

"You have come to a crossroads, Vladimir," he said calmly. "You can fall into utter depravity and become just as horrible as the being you saw Daniel face. Or, you can choose to abandon the wickedness that led you to what have become now and reconcile with those that you wronged. I have seen both happen, so I know that both are possible. The course that you take, and how I will react accordingly, are up entirely to you."

"Please." A contemptuous and menacing voice sneered from behind them. "You honestly expect anything good to come out of this fool? At least my weaker half had the guts to challenge me face to face and succeed, even with your help. But him? He's as pathetic as he is useless. And he knows it."

Clockwork did not so much as look back towards him. "Well…" he remarked nonchalantly, "I see that your vacation has come to an end, Ghostslayer."

"Messing with the minds of weaklings and pointlessly indulging in my vices amused me for a time, but it does get tiresome in the end," Dan smirked. "But this, on the other hand? This seems MUCH more interesting."

Vlad's eyes widened in horror and he frantically backed away, desperately searching for a way, any way to escape. For the dreadful phantom that had terrorized the future for so long…was now standing mere feet away, gazing at him like a predator ready to strike for the kill.'

/

I honestly did not expect this chapter to turn out so long and so detailed. But hey, it means more reading material for you guys, so who can complain?

I was suffering from a lot of mental stress and quite possibly depression while writing this, but in a weird way that actually helped me out a lot lol.

I glazed over the Ultimate Enemy and how it played out in the visions since we all know how that turns out already and I didn't want to bore you repeating things that you already know. Rather, I figured that trying to fill in the blanks on what we DIDN'T see would be much more interesting to see.

Hope you guys enjoy!


	28. Chapter 28 - Frostbite's Gift

A/N: I am actually quite burned out regarding Vlad at the moment, so let's switch the focus back to Danny and his friends (read: Ember) for the time being.

Chapter 28 – Frostbite's Gift

_Phantom Mansion_

"Heck no, baby pop!" Ember grumbled and furiously shook her head. "That ain't happening."

"Aww, come on, Em!" Danny tried to coax her. "The Far Frozen isn't that bad! Heck, Tucker and Sam could survive just fine and they're humans! Heck, I'm only half human!"

The ghost rocker folded her arms. "Are you forgetting something, dipstick? Fire core? In a frigging _ice zone_? Pass!"

Danny smirked. "Don't try to lie to me, Em. You want to know what Frostbite offered me, don't you?"

"I don't see why you can't just tell me what he's gonna give you," Ember shot back.

"I…actually don't know," Danny admitted. "He offered me a couple of yetis to work here…but that's pretty much all I know. I honestly don't have any idea what he's gonna give me. All I know is that he wanted me to come back to the Far Frozen after I was done so that he could help me out afterward."

He sighed. "All right, fine, I'll go alone. Keep an eye of Dani and Wulf while I'm gone, all right?" he asked before flying up into the air and zooming out of sight.

Ember stared after him for several seconds before, grumbling under her breath, she lifted herself into the air as well. "Frigging hell," she growled as she chased after Danny. Hopefully she wouldn't have to stay in that frigging ice hellhole as long as possible. Her mood only soured further as she realized that Danny had stopped to wait for her, a smug smirk stretched across his face.

"Thought so," he said confidently as she floated up towards him.

"Shaddap…" the ghost rocker growled as she followed him towards Frostbite's Kingdom.

_Far Frozen, Thirty Minutes Later_

"Can we just get out of here?" Ember complained as she and Danny flew over the heavy snowbanks of the main Far Frozen realm. She had insisted on dropping by her realm so that she could put on a heavy fur coat and a lot more layers of heavy clothing. Judging by her behavior, it didn't look like it was helping her much.

Danny looked at her, bemused. "Wow you really ARE sensitive to cold, aren't you?" he commented.

Ember shot him a glare. "Fire core, ice realm. You do the math, dipstick." As she turned her head forward again, she ended up colliding straight into the fur of a yeti and bounced backward into the snow. The yeti howled in shock as the flames of Ember's hair brushed against her fur, and she quickly sank her arm into the snow to douse the flames.

"Sorry!" Danny quickly apologized for his friend. The yeti looked up at him in annoyance, but it immediately melted away into respect and wonder as she realized who she was staring at.

"Great One!" the yeti exclaimed. "We did not look to see you here so soon!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, Icicle" the halfa replied sheepishly. "I finished the basics of my realm a lot faster than I thought I would. Is Frostbite here?"

Icicle nodded enthusiastically. "He'll be delighted to see you, Great One! And…" she narrowed her eyes slightly at Ember, "...what exactly are you doing in the company of the Hero of the Ghost Zone?"

Ember instantly realized that the Far Frozen yetis knew all about her and her…reputation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…" she raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm on the baby pop's side, we're all cool now. No more world domination plans, that's all a thing of the past."

"I have little doubt about that," Icicle answered. "None would dare violate the declarations established a few days ago. To incur the combined wrath of the Primordials, the Ghost Elders, AND the Dark Phantom would raise foolishness into an art form. No, I am merely curious as to why you are the single chosen companion of Danny Phantom, when so many others would gladly have come alongside you."

Ember and Danny looked at each other. "Uh…" Danny shrugged. "I dunno, actually. She was the only one around at the time, I guess?"

The yeti smiled knowingly but said nothing more on the topic. "Let us depart immediately, you two. King Frostbite will surely be pleased to see you again."

The three of them entered the depths of the Far Frozen Mountain and began walking to the center of Frostbite's kingdom, exchanging small talk along the way. They passed by several other yetis as they got closer, all of whom saluted Danny while giving Icicle and surprisingly even Ember nods in greeting.

"I hope you guys are fine after that giant ecto-storm," Danny remarked. "It was really bad where I was."

Icicle laughed dryly. "Surely you must have more faith in us, Great One!" she commented. "Rest assured, we were well prepared for the supernatural disaster that befell us. No casualties were suffered and minimal property damage occurred."

Danny sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

Icicle suddenly looked up and grin. "Excellent, we have arrived!"

Frostbite's palace stood majestically in front of them, its towering walls shimmering with the majestic luminescence that only ghost ice could create. The two guards standing in front of them smiled at Danny and Icicle, and before Danny could even ask one of them departed into the castle to inform Frostbite about their arrival. Minutes later, the King of the Far Frozen himself swung the doors open, smiling warmly down at his young friend.

"Great One!" he declared. "A pleasure to see you again, and so soon too! What brings you to the Far Frozen? Whatever service you require, we will be more than happy to provide!"

"Great!" Danny grinned. "Because I've finished the basics of my ghost realm!"

Frostbite's eyes widened in shock. "This quickly?" he gasped. "But how? Ghost realms can take months to create, and this is without taking the massive size of your realm into account!"

The halfa grinned. "Combination of boredom, an Ecto-Skeleton that boosts my powers by a hundred, a lot of spare time, you get the idea."

Frostbite laughed heartily at that. "Indeed, young Phantom. Now that you have completed the fundamentals of your realm, we may now begin working on how to improve it and truly transform it into something spectacular! Come, follow me, the two of you. There is much that I have to show you!"

To Ember's disappointment, instead of welcoming them into his castle, Frostbite started walking out of it, gesturing her and Danny to follow them into the city. It wasn't very long before they found themselves in front of a large and surprisingly modern-looking facility, a factory that had been made from a combination of ghost ice and the solid stone of the mountain.

"What exactly are we seeing here?" Ember asked.

"Patience, ghost rocker," Frostbite replied. "You will see soon enough."

The yeti king clapped his hands together once, and immediately the large doors to the factory swung open. Danny and Ember both gasped as they beheld a gigantic manufacturing assembly not unlike those commonly found in the living world. Conveyer belts were busily carrying objects into various machines, which hummed and whirred as they produced different materials out of their depths. At the end of the assembly line, two yetis were picking up what looked like bottles of drinks and loading them onto a cart to be carried away, and at the beginning of it all two more yetis were piling on…

"Core crystals?" Ember gaped. "You're making drinks out of CORE CRYSTALS?"

"Indeed!" Frostbite confirmed. "The core crystals make for excellent drinks after they have been thoroughly crushed and processed in our factory here. Ever since the core crystals were weakened by the leading authorities of the Ghost Zone all those years ago, they would be of no use to those seeking power. But that does not mean that they cannot serve more mundane uses, for they make excellent energy boosting drinks to ghosts who need to, as the mortals say, freshen up."

Ember's head was still spinning from confusion. "But…but…the Old Timer would have your head for using them like this!"

The leader of the Far Frozen burst out into laughter. "The Primordial of Time? Nonsense! If anything, he was highly amused by our idea and gave it his full approval. As such, we and we alone have been allowed full access to the island of the ice crystals for years now, and have converted those crystals into beverages for our regular consumption."

It was then that Danny realized why Frostbite was showing them this. "This is where I'll get the drinks for my bar, isn't it, Frostbite?" he asked, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Correct!" Frostbite confirmed. "And the ice crystals are not the only ones capable of undergoing this transformation. Although we have not used the other crystals to nearly the same extent, in our earlier tests we have indeed confirmed that every single one of the core crystals can undergo this process."

Ember finally got over her bewilderment and managed a smirk. "Can't wait to try the fire drink."

Frostbite frowned. "Unfortunately for you, Miss McLain, we do not have any beverages currently available apart from the ice drinks. We certainly would not be handling fire crystals on a regular basis for reasons that I am sure should be fairly intuitive to everyone. I do plan on helping Daniel recreate a smaller version of this factory in his realm and I will send a few of my kin to staff his bar, but that will come at a later point in time."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Always gotta wait for the good stuff, huh, baby pop?"

Danny smirked. "Hey, at least there actually IS good stuff to wait for."

"Can't argue with that I suppose," the ghost rocker conceded. "So what's next? You gonna show us how this thing works?"

Frostbite shook his head. "This is a very complicated system of machinery, and it would take much too long for me to fully explain all of the details. When I and my kin have reconstructed it at the Great One's ghost realm, then I will describe how it functions. All you need to know is that this is the secret to how you will create the drinks for your ghost realm, young Phantom."

"That sounds great!" Danny exclaimed. "Can't wait to try these out! Can I have one now?"

Frostbite hesitated. "I'm afraid not," he finally refused, "and I say this only on the grounds that it would not be fair to your guest. Now then, I have one other thing to show you, something that I believe will interest you much more at this current moment."

"More than this?" the halfa asked skeptically. "That's going to be kind of hard."

The yeti king smiled knowingly. "You will soon see, young Phantom." He escorted him and Ember out of the factory and, to their surprise, out of the main parts of the city. The two ghosts both noticed that they were going into a more sparsely populated area of the mountain, and the only yetis that they saw now were heavily armored and armed with fearsome-looking weaponry.

"What's with all the guards, furball?" Ember asked.

"Many of our treasures are stored here, and only the greatest and most loyal of our soldiers are permitted to guard them," Frostbite explained. "They have been thoroughly and extensively trained to fight off any kind of intruder, even those with an opposing core like fire. We have increased our training regimen thoroughly ever since Plasmius attempted to abscond with the precious Infi-Map, even though the security measures that have been added to that item would technically render the map useless to intruders anyway. We have learned to leave nothing to chance."

Finally, they approached a massive cave entrance where several yeti soldiers stood guard. All of them immediately bowed before Frostbite and saluted Danny before stepping aside to let them pass. Frostbite, Danny, and Ember descended down a set of stone stairs deep into the cavern, the only light illuminating from several torches that, instead of bearing flames, bore sparkling crystals that shined with an inner light. As they descended the final set, the stairs opened into a large network of spanning corridors where even more yeti guards patrolled. Ember and Danny immediately noticed that the walls were lined with several vault doors, all of which were firmly sealed shut. Whatever was behind those doors, it had to be highly valuable.

"I'm surprised these guys haven't complained about being down here all the time," the ghost rocker commented dryly.

One of the yeti guards who heard her remark laughed. "To be chosen as guardian of the Far Frozen Vaults is one of the highest honors a yeti warrior could achieve, fiery one," he boasted. "We will gladly protect these vaults with our very lives."

"Greetings, Hielgarth!" Frostbite greeted him as only a noble king would. "Please escort us to the Vault of the Great One, if you would be so kind."

"He/I have a Vault here?" Ember and Danny both asked at the same time. They looked at each other with utter bafflement, but with Hielgarth already moving there was no time to question the matter further. He guided them down the corridors until they were standing in front of a vault door that, unlike the others, had the initials DP firmly carved into them. Hielgarth got to work on the door, entering in password combinations before finally spinning the wheel, swinging the door open.

Danny's eyes nearly bulged immediately when he saw the contents of the room. Inside was the largest amount of gold, precious jewels, and dollar bill stacks that he had ever seen. More wealth than he had ever seen in his entire life outside of Vlad's mansion, and…

"All of this is yours!" Frostbite declared. "Ever since you defeated Pariah Dark, we have collected this wealth all in your honor. And I can think of no better time to reveal this to you, than the moment you create one of the largest and most public ghost realms in the history of the Ghost Zone!"

Ember felt a wave of jealousy build up in her, but she forced those thoughts out of her head. "Dammit!" she thought furiously. "The guy who stuck me up at the movie theater was a rich jerk who thought he could screw around with me cause of his money. I'm better than that bastard!"

"Em?" Danny's voice broke into her thoughts. "You know you can take some if you want, right?"

"Wha…?" Ember snapped back into reality. "Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, gimme a sec…"

She haphazardly stumbled into the room, taking one of many bags that was lying down on the floor. Danny had expected the undead diva to enthusiastically hoard as much as she possibly could, so he was surprised when she only took a few bill stacks and handfuls of gold coins before stopping. She honestly didn't seem all that happy about the fact that she had likely just become several thousands of dollars richer.

"You all right?" Danny asked worriedly.

Ember forced a smirk. "Yeah, I'm fine, baby pop. Don't worry about it."

"Ahem!" Frostbite interrupted them with a cough. He could immediately sense that something was troubling the young ghost rocker, and knew that now was not the best time for her or Danny to dwell on such matters. "I know what you are going to say, young Phantom. That surely you cannot accept this money that we have offered you. However, this is not merely a gift. This is a lesson."

His eyes narrowed. "I have spoken extensively with Lord Clockwork about you, young Phantom, and I know what your ghostly obsession is. Your heroism, your selflessness. These are all admirable traits, and I truly wish that there were more ghosts like you who had virtues as the core of their obsessions. However, this does not change the fact that you are indulging continually in your ghostly obsession, and that is unhealthy for the mentality of any ghost."

"Why?" Danny suddenly felt defensive. "What's wrong with what I've been doing?"

"For now? Nothing," Frostbite explained. "But indulging in any obsession at all, regardless of whether it is good, evil, or neutral, can have disastrous consequences for the ghost in question and possibly for the ones around him. Clockwork shown me many things, young Phantom. Because of your obsession, your personal life has suffered and the bond between you and your loved ones tested. For now, the worst consequences were poor grades and the injuries from your constant fighting. But things will grow worse over time, young Phantom. I have heard many ghosts claim that they could constantly indulge in their obsessions without consequence, and none have ever lived up to that boast."

He pointed at the halfa. "You are unique, in that you are a half ghost. Despite what I have just said, a full ghost cannot overcome his or her obsession completely, merely channel it to non-destructive means or focus on other matters simultaneously. But you are not fully affected by your ghostly obsession, Great One, and you have the opportunity to exert greater control over others. By no means do I suggest that you throw away the virtues that have made you a hero, but you must learn to take care of yourself as well as others."

Frostbite pointed at this gold. "Accepting this wealth will show me that you are capable of accomplishing just that. So long as much of it is used for the development of your ghost realm, I do not care what becomes of it afterwards. But this is a first step that you must take, I insist on it."

"Why couldn't Clockwork just tell me that himself?" Danny asked, annoyed.

Frostbite shrugged. "I could not possibly fathom the mind of the Primordial of Time, young halfa. For that, you would have to ask him yourself."

Danny looked back at the gold, conflict roiling in his eyes. It still didn't feel right, taking all of this gold and money away from the Far Frozen, and a part of him was urging, almost yelling at him to refuse the offer. But the fact remained that he needed this money if he was ever going to bring his ghost realm to completion, and honestly, Frostbite was right. What was wrong about taking it if it was being freely offered to him? He'd certainly deserved it after protecting the living and ghostly realms for so long."

"All right, Frostbite," Danny reluctantly agreed. "If you say so."

The king of the Far Frozen grinned. "Excellent!" he declared. "This will surely provide you with the resources that you need to develop your realm properly. I will be sending some yetis of the Far Frozen who wish to serve you in your realm at a future date, but for now I think it would be best for you to begin the next stages of developing your realm."

"That's fine by me, Frostbite!" the halfa's uneasiness was slowly being replaced by excitement. "Thanks so much for everything you've done to help me!"

Frostbite laughed. "My pleasure, Great One. Your realm holds much promise, and I would be honored to see that potential achieved in full!"

It was then that Danny realized that Ember was still there, still looking somewhat uneasily at the bag of riches that she was now holding. "Something's up with her," he thought. "Most people would jump at the chance to get their hands on even a fraction of what I have. Has it got something to do with her past?"

Ember glared at him. "What are you staring at, dipstick?" she barked.

"N-nothing!" Danny hastily replied. "I don't know if Ember trusts me enough to tell me about her past yet," he thought, "but I hope that time comes soon."

/

Finally! Exams are done and I graduated from university! I feel free as a bird! At least for the next week or so anyway lol.

I decided to switch the focus back to Danny and Ember since this fic is supposed to have them as the main pairing and the ghost realm has been out of focus lately. And yes, the mystery of the core crystals and their role has finally been revealed!

Next chapter will go straight back to Dan and Vlad, though. I'm sure many of you are dying to know how their confrontation will turn out.

Read and review please!


	29. Chapter 29 - Dark Phantom's Condemnation

A/N: I think I've kept you guys waiting long enough

Chapter 29 – The Dark Phantom's Condemnation

_Clockwork's Tower_

"I've been waiting for this moment for a _very _long time," Dan grinned savagely at the cowering Plasmius. "You crawled away into your little hole and hid for ten years while the world crumbled around you." He leaned down and grabbed Vlad by the collar, pulling him up until he was staring at him eye-to-eye. "But everyone's luck runs out in the end, cheesehead. You're no different."

Vlad desperately looked towards Clockwork, eyes pleading for the Master of Time to rescue him. But the Primordial watched him emotionlessly, eyes betraying nothing and not making a single motion to come and save him.

Dan threw him back onto the chair and Plasmius closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting for the end to come. "You really are a spineless coward, aren't you?" Dark Danny growled, a mixture of bemusement and contempt on his face. "Relax. Thanks to Clockwork over there," he glowered at the Primordial, "I can't do anything to you apart from beating you around a bit. But that doesn't mean I'm through with you," his red eyes flashed dangerously. "Not even close."

Plasmius gulped audibly as Dan's lips curled into another sadistic grin. "Strange, isn't it? If I know Clockwork as well as I do, he probably showed you that future, _my_ future, by now. And if he did show you that timeline, then you'll know that you played just as much of a role in making me just as much as our new _champion _did," he fingered the second to last word in air quotes. "Part of you created me. You gave me all of the starting power I needed to begin my conquest of the Ghost Zone. Something that you failed at time after time, something that I succeeded at on my _first try_."

He sneered at his helpless captive. "A part of me always wondered why I considered myself Danny's future, rather than yours. It wasn't until after he defeated me that I figured out the reason." He leaned down towards Plasmius, not even bothering to wait for an answer. "It's because, as pathetically heroic as my weaker self's motivations are, when he sets his mind to something, he knows how to get things done, and gets them done. Unlike you."

Vlad managed to overcome his terror for a brief moment to splutter indignantly. "What in the name of chocolate cake? How dare you speak to me like this! I have carefully crafted plan after plan to get what I wanted!"

Clockwork immediately noted the past tense in the last word, and the barest hints of a smile appeared for the briefest of moments. But neither Plasmius nor the Ghostslayer noticed, for the former was too busy cowering before the latter's menacing presence. "And, in the long-term, how many of those plans actually _worked_?" Dan shot back with a sneer. "Let's take another trip down memory lane and see just how much of a failure you really are."

He turned his head towards Clockwork, who simply nodded his approval. The Master of Time pointed his staff towards the monitor, and it once more flickered to life. The screen revealed Vlad's first encounter and battle with Danny, the one that had ended with Danny overshadowing his own father and threatening to reveal both of their identities to his parents if he didn't agree to a truce. "How do you like that?" Dan asked derisively. "He barely even knew you existed back then, and even then he still manages to outsmart you."

"It…it was all part of my plan…" Vlad explained shakily. "The fact that he was using blackmail against me was all part of my plan to influence him to…"

"Blah blah blah…" Dan mimicked him talking with his hands. "Why don't you cut the crap and admit that you failed to call his bluff. You really think he was convinced his parents would love him if he revealed that he was half-ghost? Hah!"

Vlad's words died in his throat as the monitor flickered to his opening of the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, and his accidental release of Pariah Dark. Dan's roaring laughter echoed throughout the tower. "Incredible!" he mocked. "You opened a prison containing one of the Ghost Zone's most dangerous ghosts without doing any type of research or making any kind of preparation. And _this _is the intellect that believed himself a worthy ruler of the Ghost Zone? I'm amazed you had enough brains to keep your own business running!"

Vlad gritted his teeth in anger, not just because of Dan's insults but also because he was _right._ He should have known that the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep's effects would only last so long as it remained fully locked. He should have prepared more of his anti-ghost technology in case something like this happened, and he should have known better than to attempt to open the Ghost King's sarcophagus in the first place without knowing more about what he was dealing with.

"That one little miscalculation nearly threw both the living and the ghost realms into chaos. But of course, that was all part of the plan, wasn't it, Plasmius?" Dan sneered. "In the end, you had to rely on my weaker self, the halfa who actually knew how to deal with a problem, just to seal him back in that sarcophagus. Your only victory in that entire little scenario was that you somehow made a deal with the Fright Knight, but even then you were doddering about. You had one of the most feared ghosts as a potential ally, yet once again you accomplished nothing. Pathetic."

Clockwork frowned slightly as Dan verbally ripped apart Plasmius' schemes and his past. Arranging a confrontation between Vlad and Dan was something that many, including Spatia, could easily have considered as "going too far." But scanning the futures had shown, with absolute certainty, that Vladimir's redemption could only be thoroughly secured in this way.

"And of course, we can't forget your latest and greatest failure," Dan finished triumphantly as the monitor switched over to the Disasteroid. The screen showed Vlad approaching the Disasteroid, in the moment of his seeming triumph, reaching out to make it intangible. Even sitting in Clockwork's tower, far away from that asteroid in both space and time, Vlad cringed as the Ecto-ranium shocked the Plasmius that he saw in screen, zapping away not just his energy, but any chance that his final plan had of succeeding. A final plan that had revealed to the world who he truly was and left him a fugitive forever. "You didn't even know what that asteroid was made of…" Dan hissed. "Like all the others, my weaker half had to clean up the mess that you started. And like all the others, that failure was yours and yours alone."

Vlad felt utterly drained and helpless. He had seen Dan ravage the worlds of both the living and the dead, but this was a different kind of destruction. A destruction of his ambition, of his lofty goals…of his vitality as a whole.

Dan knew it too. "The entirety of the Ghost Zone fears the might that I wield, but as you found out the hard way, I don't have to touch you to break you. Face it, cheesehead." He began duplicating around Vlad, and the halfa stared in horror as now five Dans surrounded him, all wearing that same condescending sneer. "As a villain, you're a complete and utter failure. Everything you've done, every plan you carried out, has either fallen flat or backfired. You know nothing about what it means to be truly evil, no matter how many times you try to act like some Saturday morning cartoon villain." The real Dan lifted Vlad up by the collar and stared straight into his eyes. "My past self is a naïve fool, but he is ten times the fighter and the halfa that you are, Plasmius. And considering how much I loathe him, that's saying a lot." He threw Vlad back down onto the chair.

"Are you quite finished?" Clockwork asked serenely, his eyes still empty of any visible thought.

"You ask that as though you don't already know the answer," the Dark Phantom sneered. "I'm done with this fool. Let him rot in Oblivion for all I care. I have nothing more to say." He turned and stomped away into his personal chamber in the tower, leaving Vlad in the Primordials' presence once again.

"As Daniel's friends would call him, the Ghostslayer is a jerk, to put it mildly," the Master of Time commented dryly. "Nevertheless, his words do hold truth in them that you cannot deny. Your journey as a villain and as an enemy to my Champion has led only to failure and defeat, and if I were to allow you to continue on this road that is all that you will find."

Vlad closed his eyes and gritted his teeth once more. "Then, what…what is left for me? I have _nothing_," he hissed the last word as though it had caused him great physical pain.

"On the contrary," Clockwork replied with a smile. "If I had believed that, then I would have been merciful and frozen you in front of the Disasteroid to be destroyed. There are still ways for you to make amends, to carve out a new existence and throw the shackles of your past behind."

He stared Vlad directly in the eye. "The only question is…are you willing to take that path?"

/

This is a rather short chapter, isn't it? _The Ultimate Enemy_ made it pretty clear that Vlad is nothing compared to a true villain like Dark Danny, something that our favorite evil ghost is all too happy to prove.

I would like to point out that this chapter is not meant to be a Vlad-bashing chapter by any means. A confrontation between Vlad and Dan was inevitable (heh), and there was only two ways in my mind that this could play out in "The Phantom Hero's Realm": either Dan beats the crap out of Vlad, which is something that is both predictable and something that would not advance the story much, or this, which I think would be much more interesting to my readers.

I would also like to make an announcement, since this fic has by far the vast majority of my readers. I will be planning what is possibly going to be my biggest fanfic work soon, and it will encompass characters from multiple fictional universes adapted in different ways. It's something that I'm really eager to get started with (and will reveal the mystery behind my current name), but I want to make sure that I will have people actually reading it before I start. I will be posting more details in the next chapter, but please let me know if you are interested.

Hope you guys have a great summer!


	30. Chapter 30 - An Electric Opportunity

A/N: I'm going to hold off on the big fic project for a bit, since I have a lot of real life stuff to deal with. Medical school secondaries are "fun" stuff, and the one first one I saw cost 105 dollars. Seriously! Talk about a rip-off…

Anyway, back to Danny! I think it's time we started building up his realm properly.

Chapter 30 – An Electric Opportunity

_The Far Frozen, Two Days Later_

"Oh my God, Danny, that's amazing!" Sam gasped as Danny showed her and Tucker the vault of riches Frostbite had given him.

Tucker's mouth watered at the piles of gold coins and jewels. "Man…" he whistled. "And I thought _I _was rich after they made me mayor!"

"How is that working out for you?" Danny asked as he gave them each a bag to fill. Sam predictably refused, and surprisingly Tucker did as well; apparently he was doing well enough with the money he had been given from Plasmius' bank account not to need the extra cash.

Tucker shrugged. "I throw in some idea every now and again, but like I said before, I let others handle most of the work for me. Honestly, I'm more of a figurehead than anything as the best friend of the great Danny Phantom. I'll be gone as soon as they find an actual mayor for the town."

"And you're all right with that?" Sam commented.

"Eh, it is what it is," Tucker replied. He smirked, "Besides, I get to keep the fruit loop's money."

The three friends laughed as they climbed the stairs leading out of the vault, where Frostbite was waiting for them. "Impressive, is it not?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Heck yeah!" Tucker whooped. "Danny's realm is gonna be the best!"

"I would expect nothing less from the Champion of the Primordials," the yeti king agreed. "And I wish you the best of luck completing your lab in a timely manner." He guided them back to the Specter Speeder, and soon enough the trio were flying through the Open Ghost Zone, Sam and Tucker following Danny all the way back to his realm.

"I never showed you my bar yet!" Danny exclaimed as his friends parked right outside the aforementioned structure. "You guys are gonna love it!" He waited for them to put their safety suits on before pushing the door open…and all 3 of them gaped at what they saw inside. The building, which had previously been devoid of any "life," was now being occupied by several Far Frozen yetis who were busy carrying pieces of machinery into the bar's kitchen. Even though Danny had no clue what exactly they were holding, he had a feeling he knew what they would be used for.

"What's going on?" the halfa asked one of the yetis, who immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Great one!" the yeti saluted him. "Lord Frostbite has given us orders to begin assembly of the machine that he displayed to you earlier," he declared proudly. "As you can see, we have begun work immediately!"

Danny looked skeptically at the machine part he was holding. "Are you sure that's gonna fit inside the kitchen?"

The yeti hesitated. "Erm…"

"Here…let me make a new section of the building to fit that thing in," the halfa offered. The yeti gratefully accepted the offer, and followed Danny through the kitchen and out the back of the bar. Sam and Tucker waited as a bright green flash of ecto-light suddenly erupted from beyond where they could see, before quickly fading away. Deciding that it was now safe to look, they followed in the footsteps of their friend.

A new structure now stood proudly near the bar's back entrance, one that had not been there seconds before. Unlike the other buildings which Danny had worked painstakingly to handcraft, this one was relatively simple in design and appearance. Then again, its only real purpose would be to house the machine that would make the drinks of the bar, so there was no need to make anything excessively complicated.

The yeti grinned at Danny. "This will do quite nicely, Great One. I thank you for your aid."

"No, no!" Danny shook his head. "Thanks for coming here!"

The yeti bowed (much to the halfa's chagrin) and carried his machinery into the newly created building. "Sounds like you've got everything all settled out," Tucker commented as he watched the Far Frozen yetis go about their work.

Danny shook his head. "For the bar, sure. I think that's all they're going to be working on for now, though. I'm going to have to find help from someone else for the rest of the realm."

"Like who?" Sam asked.

"Don't really have any ideas at the moment…" he replied. Suddenly he smirked. "But I think I know someone who does…"

_Ember's Realm_

"So let me get this straight, baby pop," Ember said as Danny, Sam, and Tucker all sat down. "You need help with your realm? You seemed like you were doing just fine on your own."

"That's only cause I had the Ecto-Skeleton with me," Danny replied. "Besides, Clockwork told me a few days ago that if I tried to build the whole thing entirely from scratch, chances are I'm probably going to mess something up at some point. Which wouldn't be very fun for anybody."

Ember nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's fair enough," she agreed. "Heck, it took me like a month to get my realm all finished up and stuff. Didn't have that Ecto-Skeleton either, or else it would have taken a lot less time." She suddenly looked at Danny. "Where is that thing, by the way?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Mom and Dad had to take it in for upgrade and maintenance," he muttered. "Makes everything a lot slower and more annoying."

"Ouch," the ghost rocker winced. "Well, I can try to give you some tips if you want, though you're gonna have to do the actual work yourself."

Danny smirked. "I think I can handle it."

"All right, all right, baby pop," Ember rolled her eyes. "So what exactly do you need help with anyway?"

"Electronics," Danny replied.

"Didn't you already take care of that?" Ember asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, for the mansion," he explained, "and only cause I had the Ecto-Skeleton back then. But the bar is gonna need an electric system if it's gonna run, and don't even get me STARTED on the arena!"

Ember sighed. "We both know the ghost who's perfect for the job, and we both know that he doesn't exactly like you. Just because he might not fight you anymore, doesn't mean he'll help you, baby pop. Unless you force him to, and I thought you were trying not to go for that kind of thing?"

To her surprise, Danny smirked again. "Don't worry about that, Em. I know just the thing to win him over…"

_One Hour Later…_

"Yo, Technus!" Danny shouted as he knocked his fist against the door to the technology ghost's realm. "You in there? I need to talk to you!"

The door instantly swung open, and Danny had to fly backward to avoid getting smacked in the face. "Who is the fool who dares to interrupt my…" he bellowed, only for his voice to trail off upon seeing the new Champion. Technus groaned. "Oh, great…the ghost child. What do you want?" he snapped.

Danny wasn't surprised at Technus' less than pleasant reception. After all, Technus had been one of the ghosts that he had clashed against most frequently to stop his attempts to take over the world. Luckily for both of them, however, he knew exactly how to change that.

"Hey, Technus!" Danny waved at him. "I wanted to give you a job."

Technus snorted. "Pffftttt. I may not be able to demonstrate the true extent of my genius to the mortal world, ghost child, but that does not mean that I am under any obligation to…wait, what are you doing?"

While the technology ghost had been talking, Danny had opened a ghost portal with his hands. He reached out and tugged at something inside the portal. Grunting, he pulled out a treasure chest from the portal and flipped the lid open. Technus' eyes popped out of their sockets as they crawled over the piles of gold, jewels, and stacks of dollar bills that Danny had accumulated from his vault in the Far Frozen.

"Not even if I pay you?" Danny asked casually.

"Gaaaa…wwhhhhaaaa….aaaggghhh….yaaaahh…." Technus spluttered, before forcibly shaking his head to recollect his thoughts. "Impressive, Phantom," he grudgingly conceded. "But if you wish to convince me to aid you in whatever endeavor you have in mind, it will take more than that to sway the brilliant mind of Technus to your cause!"

To his surprise, the half only smirked. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. That's why I brought the second chest." The portal crackled with energy and a second treasure chest emerged, floating neatly in front of Technus. Danny flipped the lid open again, revealing yet more piles of riches.

Technus' glasses fell off in shock. For the first time in Danny's living memory, he was completely speechless. "So whattaya say, Technus? You in?"

The ghost finally found his voice. "All this…" he asked in an unusually quiet voice. "All this…for one job?" Danny nodded in confirmation. "So…what exactly do you need me, the peerless genius Technus, to do?"

"Have you seen that arena and the bar that I made in my realm yet?" Danny asked.

"Only rumors and whispers," the inventor replied. "But has the great and mighty Technus beheld these far-out structures with his own eyes? Not yet."

"I'll just tell you what I need, and you can work out the details for yourself," Danny decided. "I need electric and technology systems for my bar and the arena. And from firsthand experience, I know that when it comes to ghosts, you're second to none."

"Correct!" Technus declared proudly. "You will find no ghost more suited to the task, than I, Tech…"

Danny instantly put his hands up. "Okay, okay, I get it!" he interrupted him. "You're the right ghost for the job."

Technus was already inching towards the treasure chests, eager to get his hands on the money.

"Woah, hold on!" Danny instantly slammed one of the chest lids, causing Technus to jump back in shock. "I didn't say I was giving all of this to you at once!" He gazed calculatingly at his former enemy. "Half now, half on completion, Technus. That's my offer."

The technology ghost stared suspiciously at him. "How do I know you'll actually…"

"Seriously, Technus?" the halfa raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I'm the kind of guy who cheats other people?"

"No, I suppose not," he grudgingly conceded.

Danny smiled. "Think about it, Technus. You keep saying you're the best inventor and technician in the Ghost Zone! My ghost realm might be one of the biggest things for the Ghost Zone lately, but if you accept my job offer it'll be YOUR handiwork that they'll be seeing too! A chance to show the Ghost Zone what you're made of! This is your time to shine!"

A hungry look creeped into Technus' eyes. Not just for the money, but for the recognition and glory that the Champion of the Primordials was promising. A few months ago, if anybody had told him that he would be working under the employ of Danny Phantom, he would have laughed in their face and blasted them with a Ghost Stinger for wasting his time. But now…

"All right, ghost child," Technus agreed, trying (and failing) to look less eager about the opportunity than he actually was. "You've got yourself a deal."

"Great!" Danny grinned. He pushed one of the treasure chests back into the portal, which immediately vanished afterward. The other chest remained open, waiting for its new master to claim the riches inside. "Like I said before, you'll get the rest once you finish things up."

Technus grabbed at the treasure chest, cackling with laughter as he started dragging it into his realm. As the door slammed shut behind him, Danny couldn't help but resist a smirk.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," the halfa thought. "Now, what else do I need…"

/

A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter, and a shift in focus back to the titular ghost realm. I included Sam and Tucker to make sure they weren't simply forgotten as chapters pass on.

You might be wondering what exactly ghosts could do with riches and money, but it DOES have value in the Ghost Zone. In "Boxed Up Fury," the ghost police was putting up several WANTED signs with bounties ranging from one to three million dollars. This indicates that money is absolutely relevant to Ghost Zone life; otherwise, it would not be offered as a reward for capturing the renegade ghosts.

Because of his tutelage under Clockwork, Danny has become somewhat smarter and more calculating than he was earlier, as demonstrated by his ability to sway Technus from being one of his primary enemies to his employee. As he himself recognized earlier, not being openly in conflict with someone doesn't mean that they're suddenly your friend.

Vlad's role in Danny's life will be resolved in a future chapter, for those of you who were wondering about his mini-arc.

I hope you guys enjoyed!


	31. Chapter 31 - Worth My Time

A/N: Hello, everyone! Although I still have a very busy few months ahead of me, I don't want to leave you hanging completely. So here's an admittedly not-very-plot-important chapter for you. I don't want to write important plot advancement while I'm dealing with my real life issues, as that would only end up with me half-assing the fic, which would be a disservice to you guys, myself, and the fic as a whole.

All in all, just a little to show that things are chugging along, and Danny is getting some work done on his realm.

Chapter 31 – Worth My Time

_The Open Ghost Zone, One Week Later_

The few ghosts in the area immediately gave Danny and Ember a wide berth as they realized that they were coming. By now, it was common knowledge to the majority of the Ghost Zone that the undead rocker and the new Champion of the Primordials were, at the very least, good friends. It was fairly common to see the two of them hanging out with each other, and most of the Ghost Zone had become used to it.

What they _weren't _used to, on the other hand, was the third ghost that was accompanying them.

"This…is…incredibly…_humiliating_," Dan snarled ferociously as he flew behind the two of them. "Clockwork using my talents, my skills, for THIS?"

_Clockwork's Tower, One Hour Ago_

"You must be joking!" the Dark Phantom roared. "You're sending me out…to do _menial labor?_"

Clockwork only smiled. "I think you have forgotten something in your time here," he coolly addressed him. "I have given you freedom that you do not deserve. I have given you power and authority that you do not deserve. I have even given you the opportunity to conduct those rampages that you so relish in. But in the end, I am the one in control, and you are my servant."

The smile disappeared. "My Champion has begun the next stage of his plans, and has begun the process of collecting core crystals for the drinks for his realm. However, he will have difficulty collecting fire crystals since their nature is directly opposite to that of his own. With a fire core of her own, Ember will be a perfect partner to help him with his task. As are you."

Dan spat viciously on the ground. "Bah! I really don't have any say in the manner, do I?"

"None whatsoever," Clockwork replied smoothly. "Consider this a reality check."

_The Present_

"All right, Em, let's get those fire crystals," Danny declared.

Ember smirked. "You mean, _we _get those fire crystals while you sit back and watch, baby pop," she retorted.

"Hey, I'm paying you some good money for this, aren't I?" the halfa countered.

"Fair enough," Ember conceded as she began to pick up the Core Crystals and place them in the chests that Danny had brought with him, Dan reluctantly doing the same.

As the two friends began to pick up crystals, Danny and Ember began talking animatedly about playing the guitar and listening to music while Dan pointedly ignored them. "So you wanna come over and jam out at my place or yours, baby pop?" Ember asked as she tied up one of the sacks, now filled with fire core crystals.

Danny thought for a moment. "Well, you've got the equipment, Em, but I have more space and probably better acoustics too. I mean, how do you not go deaf by rocking out in the _basement_?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "We're ghosts, baby pop, we can't go deaf."

Dan suddenly grinned. "I would be more than happy to prove you wrong," he hissed menacingly. "How well do you think you'll be able to hear if I poured molten ectoplasm down your ear?"

Danny's eyes narrowed. "I think I liked it better when you ignored us," he commented sarcastically.

The Ghostslayer snorted and flew to the other side of the island, the two friends watching him move out of sight with a mixture of relief and distrust. Dan stopped once he was sure he was far away from the two teenage ghosts and decided to pick up a crystal to distract himself from the humiliation Clockwork had forced upon him.

"So…" he mused, "…these are the crystals that once bestowed the power of the Ghost King. Not bad…even stripped of their true purpose, there's no mistaking that faint trace of power." He suddenly sneered at the crystals. "Pariah Dark had to rely on these to conquer the Ghost Zone? Pathetic. I was able to defeat him without relying on these worthless trinkets. Clockwork might have had the right idea for once…those who seek power should prove that they deserve it."

He took out one of the fortified sacks that the trio had taken with them and began haphazardly collecting the crystals. The sooner this incredibly menial task was over with, the sooner he could return to the far more enjoying task of unleashing his wrath upon the Ghost Zone's worst. With his superior speed and unholy determination, it took him a laughably short time to fill his sacks with the core crystals. He flew back to Danny and Ember, crossing his arms disdainfully as he noted that they were wasting his time chatting rather than working on the task at hand.

"Are you quite finished?" he growled, causing both of them to jump. "I don't appreciate having my time wasted."

Danny glared at him. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered back, "we're done. Let's get this over with, Em. The sooner he gets out of our hair, the better."

"The sentiment is more than mutual," Dan snarled as they began to fly back to Danny's realm. None of them exchanged a word until they had arrived back at Danny's realm. Dan raised his eyebrows as he realized that his weaker half had added another building behind the main part of the bar.

"You can drop the crystals off there," Danny pointed to the building. "Then you can go off to wherever you want."

The Dark Phantom grimaced and flew to the designated location. A few of the Far Frozen yetis in the area looked up in shock and fear as Dan landed neatly in front of them, hurling the sack full of crystals in front of them.

"There," he sneered. "The crystals that my weaker half so desperately needs."

"Uh…Ah…" one of the yetis, who judging by his larger horns and uniform was clearly the supervisor in charge, stuttered nervously. "My thanks…Dark One. Perhaps…perhaps we can make a beverage for you as a token of our…gratitude…?"

Dan was about to condescendingly turn down the offer, but a thought suddenly stopped him. He had already wasted all this time helping his weaker half on Clockwork's orders, why not reap the fruits of his otherwise meaningless labor? "Make it quick," he snarled. "I have no desire to stay here any longer than I absolutely have to."

The yeti supervisor quickly barked a command at his subordinates, and they rushed inside with a few of the flame crystals. Dan crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently as whirring and buzzing echoed from inside the newly made warehouse. A few minutes later, the yeti returned, holding a fresh beverage in his hand. The yetis had transformed the flame crystal into a kind of bright orange smoothie, which actually glowed with the energy from the crystal that had created it.

The Dark Phantom snatched the drink from the yeti's hand and began drinking without another word. His eyes widened and he drank even more vigorously, his mind blocking out any thoughts other than how utterly _delicious_ this drink was. He could feel the drink emanate with his core, synergizing with and energizing it, satisfying him in a manner that he had never felt even when terrorizing the world at his leisure. Too soon, the glass was empty in his hand, and the delightful experience was over. "These yetis certainly deserve their reputation," Dan had to grudgingly admit. It was then that he caught sight of Danny and Ember, who were both watching him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

Dan mentally cursed as he realized the precarious situation he was in. If he openly admitted that he had thoroughly enjoyed the drink, then he would look weak in front of them. But if he outright rejected or condemned it, then it would be MUCH more difficult to secure another beverage in the future, and he would have to resort to pathetic tactics such as stealing them sneakily like a common criminal or else admit later that he had stooped to deception over something so minor. Both alternatives would make a fool out of him and therefore were completely unacceptable.

He eyed the beverage calculatingly. "Hmm…" he conceded, "…it matches my expectations, I will admit." His smile vanished. "But I expect higher quality in the future. Until then, I am finished here," he growled, and flew into the Ghost Zone and out of sight.

Danny and Ember looked at the yeti, who shrugged. "Given the Dark Phantom's reputation," he commented, "his reaction was better than I had anticipated. In the meantime, Great One, construction of the beverage machine is almost complete. Afterwards, arranging the furniture in your realm shall be a trivial matter and it will soon be suitable for public access."

The two friends couldn't help but smile. If _Dan Phantom_ of all people had something positive to say, then Danny was definitely doing something right.

_Meanwhile…._

Technus flew around Phantom's Coliseum, analyzing the details of the architecture. Considering the fact that the ghost child was just now adjusting to life in the Zone and the ambition of his vision, Technus had to admit that he was impressed with the results. But it was missing a vital ingredient…

"The realm of the Primordials' Champion is outdated!" the technology ghost fumed. "Out of touch! Antique! Boring! No wonder Phantom paid me so much, there's not a single piece of technology anywhere!"

His hands began to glow with green energy. "But this shall be the case no longer! For I, Technus, shall display my skills and talents like never before! The entirety of the Ghost Zone shall behold the new and improved Coliseum, and bow before my greatness!"

/

And there you have it! Proof that the fic is not dead! I do want to reinforce the fact that Dan is technically Clockwork's servant, and that while he still may have a lot more free rein than he probably deserves, he is still a servant at the very end.

Read and review please!


	32. Chapter 32 - Ironing Out the Details

A/N: Hello, everyone! It's been three months since my last update, but I've finally returned. I do sincerely apologize for the extensive delay, but the medical grad school program I was in demanded my absolute attention and I had no time to spare that would allow me to write even a semi-decent chapter. But the worst of the program is over and done with, and I now finally, FINALLY, have time to write again.

I do understand that people might be very excited that the fic is finally being continued, but all the same I'm going to start by taking things a bit slower. It's been a long time since I started writing again and I want to ease my way back into this. I'm not gonna write anything groundbreaking or major because I want to make sure I'm in top form before I do so. To attempt anything in a subpar state would be a disservice to the fic.

And with that being said, the next chapter is finally here!

Chapter 32 – Ironing Out the Details

_Danny's Bar_

"Looks like I'm all alone for today," Danny thought as he lounged on one of the unfinished booths. Nowadays, between both his human and his ghost friends, it was incredibly unlikely for him to be completely alone in the Ghost Zone, but alone he was.

Tucker had been called to a meeting at the Town Hall (he might not have had nearly as big of a role as the average person believed, but he was still more than just some figurehead), while Sam had been forced by her parents to attend one of those "fancy balls" that they were fond of. Danny cringed at the thought; knowing his ex-girlfriend, this must be a living nightmare for her. Jazz was busy prepping for college, and his parents were doing all they could to help his sister out.

As for his ghost friends, most of them actually were in Amity too. Johnny and Kitty were going out on a date together, while Ember had taken Youngblood to the movies (after having been cleared by Pandora). Wulf had escorted Dani to the Far Frozen to advance her training, leaving Danny all alone for the day.

"Maybe I should go to Clockwork's Tower and see what he's doing with Plasmius," he briefly entertained the idea, but quickly dismissed the notion. He knew all too well that Clockwork's plans required absolute precision to yield the best possible outcomes, and if the Primordial of Time had blocked off his tower from the rest of the Zone entirely then chances are he didn't want ANY interference, not even from him.

It had been relatively easy to finish up the third of the bar dedicated to social hang-outs. Since that section was pretty much a bunch of similarly sized rooms, all Danny had to do was manipulate the ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone in the same method repeatedly. A sofa and a few couches (including one beanie bag couch), a table or two, a wide screen TV, and some basic lighting were really all that were needed, and after working on the mansion and its complexities this was a piece of cake.

"Guess the only thing I can really do right now is the training area!" Danny decided as he pushed open the door leading there. "But how do I approach this?"

The idea behind the training area had been simple. When the arena was finally opened and the competitions began, any ghosts who would soon be fighting would be able to prepare themselves and test their skills and strength in the few minutes leading to their bids for glory. But as he gazed at the empty space of what was easily the largest section of his bar, Danny quickly realized that this was not going to be as simple as he had hoped.

While the general public simply saw a superhero fighting off ghosts, Danny and any ghost with respectable combat prowess knew that there were actually two fronts to ghost fighting: the physical aspect and the supernatural aspect. The only way this future training area could properly serve its purpose was if he organized it so that both sides were fully covered.

"Ugggghhhhh…." Danny groaned, realizing that he effectively had two problems to tackle. The spectral side of battling was a particularly huge problem, given that ghostly powers could be highly destructive. It was disturbingly easy for him to imagine a stray ghost attack firing off somewhere and hitting someone out in the park or in the bar. At best, someone would get pissed and start an actual fight.

He didn't want to think about the worst case scenario.

"Hey!" the halfa called out to a nearby yeti. "Is there any way to create an area that could contain ghost attacks and prevent them from flying out into the open?"

The yeti shrugged and frowned. "If anything, you would know more about that then I, Great One," he replied. "But if you wish for an honest answer, I do not believe that it is within your power to do so. What you are asking about is the power to fundamentally change the nature of the Ghost Zone, even if it is within a particular area. You will need outside assistance to accomplish what you seek."

Danny groaned. "I had a feeling you'd say that," he muttered. After thanking the yeti, he turned his attention back to the problem at hand. "I don't think I can do anything about this for now. But what about simple hand to hand fighting?"

Although he had never seen it for himself, he knew that the physical forms of ghosts could fundamentally change. He shuddered at recalling how the future Ember had gone from being a sexy and attractive rock star to an obese, ruined wreck of a ghost.

But he HAD seen positive change too, none more so than the Box Ghost. In Dan's future, he'd gone from being the biggest butt monkey of the Ghost Zone to one of its most hardcore badasses. When Dan had destroyed the Lunch Lady, the Box Ghost's desire to avenge her at all costs must have driven him to train extensively to maybe one day, one day, defeat the destroyer of his life and his love.

"Could it be that simple?" he wondered. Was an exercise regimen really all it took to build up a ghost's "physical" prowess? Danny tried to come up with any other plausible explanation, but he couldn't think of any.

"Clockwork always did say the simplest solution was the most likely," he thought dryly. "And it looks like for once I'll need to solve my problem in the human world."

_Amity Park Fitness Center_

"Hrrrrrrghhhhhh…" Kwan grunted as lifted the barbell above his body. "So close to a personal record," he thought determinedly. "I can do this!" He forcefully exerted all of his energy into holding the bar high above his head…but he could feel his strength leaving him and in the end his spotter had to grab the bar to keep him from dropping it.

"No can do," the spotter shook his head. "Can't risk you getting hurt."

"No problem," Kwan shook his head in disappointment as he got up from the bench. "I'll get there eventually. Thanks for the help," he said as he grabbed his water bottle and began drinking from it. He was about to leave when his eyes suddenly caught the last person he expected to see, and it was all he could do to refrain from spitting his water out in shock.

"FENTON?" he gaped.

Danny chuckled at seeing the A-Lister's expression. "Weren't expecting to see me here, were you?"

"Nah, I mean, it's cool!" Kwan shrugged off his initial confusion. "So how's it been, man? I haven't seen you since they showed that statue of you in the square!"

"Can't really complain," Danny replied. "Been in the Ghost Zone for most of the summer so far, actually. Actually managed to calm things down a bit."

"Sweet!" the Asian jock replied. His face turned into one of puzzlement. "I'm not sure why you're here to see me, of all people. And how you'd know I'd be here?"

Danny shrugged. "Took a guess," he replied nonchalantly. "And as for why I'm coming to you? Well…I've come across a certain…situation, let's say. And I need someone with muscle and a regular exercise routine to help me out."

"There's a lot of A-Listers who could fit the bill," Kwan replied. "Heck, Dash takes this stuff more seriously than I ever could."

"Yeah, but you're also the only one who ever treated me, Sam, and Tuck somewhat decently at school sometimes. So you're pretty much the only one I actually trust a bit,"

"Dude, you're _Danny Phantom!_" Kwan pointed out. "The entire school loves you! Heck, you're the talk of the A-Listers, we think you're the coolest thing ever!"

"Did you guys think that about Danny Fenton BEFORE you learned I was Phantom?" Danny shot back. Kwan shifted uncomfortably, but he knew Danny was right. The halfa could have easily beaten the crap out of the entire football team several times over without breaking a sweat, and he knew that they were incredibly lucky that Danny was the nice guy that he was.

"I see what you're saying, Danny," he admitted. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry about shoving you in the lockers and treating you guys like crap."

"So long as you actually follow through with that and start being nicer to the rest of the school as a whole, Kwan, I don't have a problem with that," Danny replied with a smile. "Start over?" he extended his hand to the jock.

"Sure, man," he gratefully accepted the handshake. "So, uh…going back to why you're here….why ARE you here?"

Danny gestured towards the many exercise machines scattered throughout the gym. "You seem to know how these things work. Would you mind guiding me through these?" he asked.

Kwan raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "But…you're _Danny Phantom_. Don't you have the whole super strength thing? I mean, I see you beat the crap out of ghosts every other day!"

"I'm doing this to help someone out," Danny replied. "I've got my own way to train back at home."

"Well, I guess Amity Gym isn't exactly gonna help you out with fighting ghosts all that much," Kwan agreed dryly. "By the way, what happened to all the ghosts? I've barely seen any all summer!"

Danny smirked. "The less work I have to do, Kwan, the less I'm complaining."

Kwan laughed at that. "I bet!" He picked up the towel wrapped around his neck and expertly tossed it into the waste bin. "So you wanna know how to get your pal all buffed up? I can't say I use every machine in the gym, Danny, but I'll show you around the ones that everyone use."

_Two Hours Later, Danny's Bar (Training Area Section)_

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Danny exclaimed as he looked over the notes that he had taken from Kwan's impromptu lesson on gym machines. "Those were the BASICS? Man, forget workking out in the gym. I'll take ghost fights and mom's martial arts any day!"

He groaned. "Well, at least I've got the game plan. Just need to make a couple of these each and…oh, no…I forgot…ghosts are a lot stronger than humans. I'm gonna have to calculate how many pounds a ghost can take, aren't I?" The halfa banged his head against the wall in frustration. "Ugggghhhhhh….God, I hate math…"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. "Wait a minute, I don't have to calculate anything!" he grinned. "I can just have my parents do it for me! Heck, they can probably do it a lot more accurately than I ever could. As soon as they're done helping Jazz pack…"

His grin faded and he sighed. Jazz would be leaving soon. Ever since she had figured out that he was the hero of Amity, she really had been one of the biggest sources of support and comfort that he had depended on. Sure, Sam and Tucker might have been with him from the beginning, but Jazz was without a doubt the most loyal supporter he had ever had. Clockwork had shown him many different timelines where his friends and family had betrayed him instead of supporting him, and in that sea of timelines the ones where Jazz had abandoned him were by far the fewest in number.

"I think I should spend some time with her, just the two of us," Danny decided as he left the bar and began flying towards the Fenton Portal. "Can't let the opportunity go to waste while I still have the chance."

/

A/N: And there we have it, people. My first update in a while. Advancement of the plot (aka working on the Ghost Realm) without anything too substantial otherwise happening. Sorry if this wasn't the chapter you were hoping for, but if I screwed this up after months of inactivity I'd rather mess up a minor chapter than a major one.

I can't promise a consistent update schedule. I'll update quickly or slowly depending on my circumstances. But here is the proof that this fic is far from dead.

Read and review please!


	33. Chapter 33 - Sibling Bonding

A/N: I've heard a while back that some people have been having issues with not receiving notices about when their fics are being updated. I hope that nobody is having this issue.

Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 33 – Sibling Bonding

_Fenton Works_

"The average weight a ghost can lift?" Maddie repeated, puzzled. "Just to be clear, Danny, that's what you want me to calculate?"

"Yeah," Danny confirmed. "I'm no good at math."

Maddie frowned. "I think it's more along the lines of the fact that you were always too busy fighting ghosts to study properly," she admitted. "I'm sure Mr. Lancer is more than willing to forgive you now that he knows exactly _why_ you've been slacking."

"That's a bridge I'll cross when I get there," her son replied. "So anyway, what can you tell me about ghost strength?"

Maddie sat down on her computer and opened up a file. "Well, as you can imagine, ghosts can lift much heavier weights than an average human ever could." She scanned the file and her eyes widened slightly. "In fact…the average ghost has enough strength to lift several hundred pounds without breaking a sweat. The stronger ones can lift over a ton with only minor difficulties." She whirled around, eyes wide with shock. "Danny…the other ghosts were hitting you with that kind of strength?"

Danny quickly lifted his hands to try and calm her down. "Relax, mom…ghostly endurance scales up to ghostly strength just as much. A ghost punching me in the stomach is the same thing as one regular guy punching another one."

Maddie reluctantly accepted his explanation but still didn't seem all that pleased. "If you say so, Danny." She thought for a moment. "If you're trying to create a gym for ghosts to work out in Danny, I think weights of 100 and 250 pounds will work out best for you. Maybe a few 500 pounders, but not as many."

"Seems simple enough. Thanks, mom!" he turned to go back into the Ghost Zone, but stopped. "Uh, mom?"

"Yes, Danny?" she smiled at him.

"Is there any chance I can take Jazz along? I know she's busy prepping for college, but…"

Maddie interrupted him. "I know there's not a lot of time left before she heads off to college, Danny. I'm not going to stop the two of you from spending as much time as you possibly can together until then. Go right ahead, I'm sure she won't mind any more than I do."

Danny smiled back. "Thanks for understanding, mom. I just wish it didn't take me so long to realize how important she really is to me."

_Thirty Minutes Later, The Ghost Zone_

"It's been a long while since it's just been the two of us, hasn't it, Danny?" Jazz asked with a sisterly smile as she flew alongside Danny in the Specter Speeder. The last time they had been alone like this had not been a very pleasant experience, even if she HAD been faking her betrayal of Danny to Vlad.

"Yeah, I'm really glad we finally have some time just for the two of us," Danny answered back as they landed down on the space outside of the bar. "I've got a lot to show you." He guided Jazz into the bar, and her eyes widened as she took in her brother's work.

"Wow, Danny…" she whistled. "If you put in just as much work in your homework as you did here, you'd be the top of the class!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Cause it's totally not the hundreds of ghosts who attack me every year," he snarked.

Jazz laughed and ruffled her brother's hair lightly. "In all seriousness, Danny, you've accomplished something amazing," she complimented, the joking around gone from her voice. "Giving the ghosts something to make their afterlives more fun...you really are a hero in every sense of the word."

"It just feels like the right thing to do," Danny replied absently. He'd always wondered whether his heroics and virtues were part of his ghostly obsession or just an innate part of his character. In the end, he'd decided that it was the latter amplified by the former.

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Danny," Jazz assured him. "You've already come so far and yet there's still so many possibilities ahead of you."

"And what about you, Jazz?" her brother suddenly asked. "I know you wanted to be a psychiatrist for like the longest time. Is that something you're still into?"

"Yep!" Jazz cheerfully replied. "Honestly, it's one of the reasons why I find the Fenton Database so fascinating. Who knows what really goes on in the minds of ghosts? I could probably write an entire graduate thesis just on Ghostly Obsessions and how they influence their behavior!"

Danny frowned. "They're not just research subjects, Jazz. At the end of the day, a lot of them are people too."

"I know," Jazz's smile grew warmer. "And it's really because of you that people are starting to become aware of that."

"It'll make things a lot better for everyone," Danny agreed as he guided Jazz to one of the relaxation rooms on the right side. "But going back to what you're gonna be studying, Jazz, are you still gonna be studying ghosts?"

Jazz shook her head. "As much as I've loved being part of your world and everything you do, Danny, I don't think starting with ghosts is a good idea. Can you just imagine the issues some of them must be going through cause of their Obsessions? Or their pasts? I've got to start with something a little closer to home." She made a face. "Of course, you could make the argument that humans aren't any simpler to understand than ghosts."

"I was about to say…" Danny said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, did you even SEE mom and dad at the Nasty Burger that day?"

Jazz facepalmed. "You didn't make things any better, Danny," she immediately pointed out. "As I remember, YOU joined them at the Material Grill that day."

"Yeah, and I regretted it when the next day of school happened," he grumbled. "First time I was actually _thankful _for a ghost attack." He smirked. "Put on a show as the great Danny Phantom and five seconds later that's ALL that anyone will talk about for the next couple of days.

He was a bit surprised when Jazz looked at him with worry in her face. "Danny…you do realize that people aren't ever going to leave you alone anymore, right? You're going to be swarmed by fans all day, every day in school for pretty much forever! Are you sure you'll be okay with that?"

It was Jazz's turn to be surprised when Danny maintained his smirk. "Don't you worry, sis," he held up a hand to assure her, "I've got that part _all_ figured out."

Jazz smiled. "It's funny. Two years ago, I wouldn't have believed you. But now I can say for certain that you know exactly what you're doing." She leaned into her couch and sighed. "I only wish I could say the same."

Danny looked at her incredulously. "Are you kidding me, Jazz? You're the golden girl of Casper High! Only one B+ in a history of Straight As, a near perfect score on the CAT? You're the most intelligent, competent student in all of school!"

Jazz frowned. "Test scores are one thing, Danny," she sighed. "Real life is another. Compared to you, Danny, I have barely any actual experience in what I'm going to do in the future."

The halfa stroked his sister's hair. "You'll be fine, Jazz," he assured her firmly. "Trust me. I mean, you've _fought ghosts _before. How hard can college be? Think of it this way. You've pretty much aced everything you've done so far, so you've got to be doing at least _something_ right. Just keep doing what you think is the right way to go, and college shouldn't be a problem. Just don't rush in like you did with ghost hunting, cause we all know how THAT worked out," he couldn't resist adding with a smirk.

Jazz shoved him lightly. "Oh come on, Danny, I wasn't that bad!" She smiled and reached out to hug her brother. "But in all seriousness Danny, thanks. You really are the best brother a girl could ask for." She got up from the sofa. "So let's see you at work, then!"

Danny looked up, baffled. "Huh?"

"I want to see you work on your realm, Danny!" she exclaimed. "This is the biggest thing that's gonna be happening in the Ghost Zone! I can't wait to see what it looks like once it's been opened!"

"Sure, Jazz," Danny picked up the page of calculations Maddie had typed up for him. "You saw the calculations for the weights I'd need to make, right? You have any ideas on how I should approach this?"

Jazz took the page from him. "Well, let's see…" she murmured as the two of them walked out the door.

_The Real World_

"So whatcha think, Youngblood?" Ember asked as she and Youngblood walked out of the movie theater. They had both adopted human guises to avoid causing a spectacle, since it would have taken more effort to remain invisible and intangible for such a prolonged period of time.

Besides, this way they could have buttered popcorn and ICEEs.

"Eh, I dunno…" Youngblood shrugged. "I mean, it wasn't bad…but it just doesn't really match up to the original, ya know?"

"Eh, I can get behind that," Ember agreed. She smirked. "Then again, doesn't every sequel suck?"

"Heck no!" Youngblood retorted. "That's just flat out wrong! The later Lord of the Rings movies were so much better than the first one!"

"Yeah well, _The Lord of the Rings_ is in a league all of its own, pipsqueak!" Ember scoffed. The two of them continued their lighthearted banter until they reached an alley, where they dropped their disguises.

"All right, we just gotta sneak into Fenton Works and get to the portal," Youngblood whispered to Ember as he turned invisible and intangible. As they phased through the door, he added, "I used to do this all the time. Just make sure you don't do anything to make them realize…"

A shrill alarm suddenly blared through the building. Immediately, Jack and Maddie Fenton's footsteps boomed up the stairs and the door to their lab suddenly swung open. Both of them were wearing specialized goggles that no doubt would allow them to see ghosts that would normally be invisible.

"FREEZE!" Jack shouted as the Fenton parents aimed their ray guns right at them.

"…that we're here," he finished lamely as Ember glared at him. "Ah, crap…."

/

So I think this is a good place to leave off. Jazz and Danny are off bonding in the Ghost Zone, while everyone's favorite ghost rocker is being held at gunpoint by their parents. Good times all around!

I think it would be best if I avoid going into the details of Danny actually creating his realm. We've seen all this before in the other parts of Danny's realm, and I don't want to bore you guys by repeating the same thing over and over again.

While I can't say anything about my update schedule, I think I'll be accelerating the pace of the plot a bit soon, since I feel like the whole "making the realm" thing is bogging me down a bit.

Read and review please!


	34. Chapter 34 - Meeting the Parents

A/N: I came across some very surprising news…I've been accepted into medical school! That's the good news.

The bad news…is that the time I have to write is even more limited than it has been before. I have to write an entire Master's Thesis in a single month and medical school's not gonna be making things any easier. These latest developments might honestly be the one thing that permanently discontinues the fic.

I'll just take things as they go, I guess. Until then, here's a chapter to progress the story along!

Chapter 34 – Meeting the Parents

Ember and Youngblood stared nervously at the barrels that the two Fenton parents were pointing at them. Every time they had been beaten and captured before, it had been Danny who had bested them. But at the mercy of his ghost hunting parents, it was a whole different ball game now.

"All right, spook!" Jack cut to the chase. "Who are you and what are you doing in our house?"

Ember quickly lifted her hands up in a pacifying gesture. "Whoa, whoa…" she tried to calm them down. "We're not here to cause any trouble, we swear!"

"We're friends of Phantom!" Youngblood chimed in, barely managing to conceal his fear. "Ember McLain and Youngblood! We were just out to go watch some movies!"

Maddie narrowed her eyes at them. "We'll see what the Fenton Ghost Database has to say about that," she replied, her tone guarded but not outright hostile, something that Ember immediately picked up on. "Command 4675!" she shouted. "Analyze the ghost entities!"

The entire house suddenly begin to whir and hum, and both Ember and Youngblood suddenly felt as though they were being scrutinized by an unseen presence. The odd and uncomfortable feeling lingered for several seconds, and then suddenly vanished.

"Ghost Entity 1: Ember McLain. Status: Friend. Danger Level: Low. Ghost Entity 2: Youngblood. Status: Friend. Danger Level: Low," a voice monotonously declared.

The two ghosts immediately breathed huge sighs of relief. "So, uh…" Youngblood raised an eyebrow. "Can we go now?"

"Not so fast," Maddie interrupted. Her gaze was significantly less hostile than it had previously been, but there was still a degree of wariness in both her and her husband's eyes. "I've been acquainted with all of the ghosts that Danny was friends with, and you two definitely _weren't_ on that list. Which means that any change of status from enemy to friend had to have occurred recently."

"If Danny-o considers you his friends, we'll trust his judgment. But that doesn't mean we're not going to take precautions," Jack added, his voice uncharacteristically serious. Inside his head, he thought, "God knows how much we've messed up already, and how much worse things could've turned out."

"If you want free access to the human world, you agree to our conditions. No ifs, ands, or buts," Maddie finished firmly.

Ember cringed at the idea of having to submit herself to an adult's terms, but she knew there was no choice. Considering what Danny had told her about his parents, it was a miracle they were even offering in the first place. "All right, so what are they?"

"Number one," Maddie lifted one finger. "Any time you use our portal to enter the human world, you check in with either me or Jack. I don't care if you tell us personally or leave a note in the lab, but if you're out and about here we better know about it."

"Number two," Jack cut in. "You're out and about only as long as Danny's out and about. When he comes in for the night, same goes for you."

"How the heck are we supposed to know when his curfew is?" Youngblood exclaimed.

"We'll let you know," Maddie answered curtly. "And number 3..." her eyes narrowed, "Noschemes to take over the world or endangering the lives of others. Under _any _circumstances."

"The Ghost Council's been bringing the hammer down on that," Ember replied, "so that's not a problem for me."

"Guess I'm going to have to tone down my pranks…" Youngblood murmured.

"And above all…" Jack finished, and both ghosts recoiled at the utter menace in his glare. "You will not do _anything_ to harm Danny or Jazz. In any way, shape, or form. Because if you do, there will be no place in Earth or the Ghost Zone you can hide from us, and I'll do much, _much_ worse than tear you apart, molecule by molecule. This I _swear._" He finished with a snarl.

Both Ember and Youngblood shivered in fear. Whatever description they had heard about Jack Fenton from his son had almost nothing in common with the towering authority that commanded their absolute attention and respect. This was a man who cared about his family above all else, and they knew that to challenge his determination would be a fatal mistake.

The hostility immediately evaporated from Jack's face, and suddenly he was grinning like the bumbling goofball everyone knew him to be. "But hey, I'm sure we don't have to worry about anything!" he exclaimed, putting away his gun. "You kids sure look like a nice enough bunch. I'm sure we'll get along just great!"

"It's nice to know Danny has some friends in the Ghost Zone around his age!" Maddie agreed brightly, either forgetting or ignoring the fact that both Ember and Youngblood were technically much older than Danny. "So have you two been looking for Danny or are you just going back to the Ghost Zone?"

"Eh, we were watching a movie in the human world," Ember replied, carefully masking the lingering nervousness she had been feeling over the last few seconds. "So, uh…where is he, anyway? Kinda surprised he didn't barge up here with all the loud noise?"

"Oh, he and Jazz are spending some time together in the Ghost Zone," Maddie answered, a wistful look on her face. "There's not a lot of time left before Jazz goes off to college. Do you need him for something?"

"Nah, we're fine," Ember shrugged off the offer. "I'm just gonna take this little punk here to his realm and then hit the bed for the night. Might take a quick stop at his realm just to check how things are going but otherwise I don't have much else going on."

"Well, if you see them, tell them to come on home!" Jack grinned. He turned to Maddie. "Let's go, Mads. We should get back to packing for Jazzie!"

"One sec, dear," Maddie turned back to Ember. "Are there any other ghosts that we should know about and not blast on sight?"

"Johnny 13 and Kitty, but good luck trying to keep those two reined in," Ember smirked. "They're even more into the whole teenage rebellion thing than I am."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Just what I need," she thought snidely. "Well, guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there."

"Well, tell Danny and Jazz to come on in if you run into them, will ya?" Jack asked. "Have a good night, kids!" He bounced up the stairs and disappeared into one of the rooms.

"Aren't you that rock star ghost?" Maddie suddenly asked. "The one who's always with the guitar?"

The question took Ember by surprise. "Uh…yeah?"

"Jazz used to be a big fan of yours!" the Fenton matriarch said. "Well…she was until you started trying to take over the world and causing messes in the city just like every other ghost."

"Which I ain't doin' anymore," the rocker ghost replied. "You'd be the least of my problems if I started screwing around again."

"Danny used to be quite the electric guitarist himself," Maddie added. She suddenly sighed, "I never understood back then why he suddenly quit. Now it makes way too much sense…anyway, just make sure you don't cause any trouble and you won't get any from us." She turned around and followed her husband up the stairs into the room he had barged into, leaving the two "younger" ghosts alone.

Ember and Youngblood stared silently at the spot where the Fenton adults had been standing seconds before. "Well…" Youngblood finally commented. "That went better than I thought it would."

"Yeah, used to be those two would always go shoot first and ask questions never," Ember agreed. "Guess baby pop did rub off on the two of them."

"I mean, they are his parents. Pretty sure that's how they're supposed to…" Youngblood began, but his voice trailed off at the sudden icy glare Ember was giving him. He very wisely decided not to continue the train of thought.

Luckily for him, Ember wasn't paying attention to him anymore. "So the baby pop _did_ plan on being a rock star before all the craziness of Danny Phantom started," she thought. "Maybe I can get him started again. Gotta wait until after he's finished with his realm, though. Here's to hoping he finishes soon!"

"Do you wanna check out Phantom's realm before I hit the bed for the night?" Youngblood asked. "Rumor's been going around the Ghost Zone that he's getting really close to finishing it now that he's brought in Technus and those Far Frozen yetis."

Ember snapped out of her train of thought. "Heck yeah," she replied with a smirk. "Let's see how far Phantom's coming along."

/

A/N: In the interest of getting as much done as possible before med school wrecks my progress, I'm going to be moving the plot along faster than I would have done so otherwise. Hope that's all right with you.

Read and review please!


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